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Liberal Party of Canada

January 10, 2023

For other liberal political parties in Canada, see Liberalism in Canada § Current parties.

The Liberal Party of Canada (French: Parti libéral du Canada) is a federal political party in Canada. The party espouses the principles of liberalism,[6][13][14] and generally sits at the centre to centre-left of the Canadian political spectrum, with their rival, the Conservative Party, positioned to their right and the New Democratic Party, who at times aligned itself with the Liberals during minority governments, positioned to their left.[6][15][16] The party is described as "big tent",[17] practising "brokerage politics",[c] attracting support from a broad spectrum of voters.[23] The Liberal Party is the longest-serving and oldest active federal political party in the country, and has dominated federal politics of Canada for much of its history, holding power for almost 70 years of the 20th century.[24][15] As a result, it has sometimes been referred to as Canada's "natural governing party".[25][17]

Liberal Party of Canada
Parti libéral du Canada
AbbreviationLPC (English)
PLC (French)
LeaderJustin Trudeau
PresidentSuzanne Cowan
House leaderMark Holland
FounderGeorge Brown
Founded1861; 162 years ago (1861)[a][1]
Preceded byClear Grits (Canada West)
Parti rouge (Canada East)
HeadquartersConstitution Square
350 Albert Street
Suite 920
Ottawa, Ontario
K1P 6M8
Youth wingYoung Liberals of Canada
Ideology
Political positionCentre[6][7][8] to centre-left[8][9]
International affiliationLiberal International[10]
Colours  Red
Senate[b]
0 / 105
House of Commons
158 / 338
Website
www.liberal.ca

The party first came into power in 1873 under Alexander Mackenzie, but were voted out five years later due to the economic conditions at the time. They would not come back to office until 1896; Wilfrid Laurier was prime minister from that year until the party's defeat in 1911 and his tenure was marked by several compromises between English and French Canada. From the early 1920s until the mid-1950s,[d] the Liberal Party under Prime Ministers William Lyon Mackenzie King and Louis St. Laurent gradually built a Canadian welfare state.

The Liberals' signature policies and legislative decisions include universal health care, the Canada Pension Plan, Canada Student Loans, the establishment of the Royal Canadian Navy, multilateralism, official bilingualism, official multiculturalism, gun control, the patriation of the Constitution of Canada and the establishment of the Canadian Charter of Rights and Freedoms, the Clarity Act, legalizing same-sex marriage, euthanasia, and cannabis, national carbon pricing, and expanded access to abortion.[13][26][27][28]

The Liberal Party, led by Justin Trudeau since 2013, won a majority government in the 2015 federal election. In both the federal elections of 2019 and 2021, the party was re-elected with a minority government.

History

Main article: History of the Liberal Party of Canada

19th century

Origins

See also: Rebellions of 1837

The Liberals are descended from the mid-19th century Reformers who advocated for responsible government throughout British North America.[1] These included George Brown, Alexander Mackenzie, Robert Baldwin, William Lyon Mackenzie and the Clear Grits in Upper Canada, Joseph Howe in Nova Scotia, and the Patriotes and Rouges in Lower Canada led by figures such as Louis-Joseph Papineau. The Clear Grits and Parti rouge sometimes functioned as a united bloc in the legislature of the Province of Canada beginning in 1854, and a united Liberal Party combining both English and French Canadian members was formed in 1861.[1]

Confederation

At the time of Confederation of the former British colonies of Canada (now Ontario and Quebec), New Brunswick, and Nova Scotia, the radical Liberals were marginalized by the more pragmatic Conservative coalition assembled under Sir John A. Macdonald. In the 29 years after Confederation, the Liberals were consigned to opposition, with the exception of one stint in government.[1] Alexander Mackenzie was the de facto leader of the Official Opposition after Confederation and finally agreed to become the first official leader of the Liberal Party in 1873. He was able to lead the party to power for the first time in 1873, after the Macdonald government resigned over the Pacific Scandal. Mackenzie subsequently won the 1874 election and served as Prime Minister for an additional four years. During the five years the Liberal government brought in many reforms, including the replacement of open voting by secret ballot, confining elections to one day and the creation of the Supreme Court of Canada, the Royal Military College of Canada, and the Office of the Auditor General; however, the party was only able to build a solid support base in Ontario and in 1878 lost the government to Macdonald.[1] The Liberals would spend the next 18 years in opposition.

Wilfrid Laurier

 
Sir Wilfrid Laurier, Prime Minister of Canada (1896–1911)

In their early history, the Liberals were the party of continentalism and opposition to imperialism. The Liberals also became identified with the aspirations of Quebecers as a result of the growing hostility of French Canadians to the Conservatives. The Conservatives lost the support of French Canadians because of the role of Conservative governments in the execution of Louis Riel[29] and their role in the Conscription Crisis of 1917, and especially their opposition to French schools in provinces besides Quebec.

It was not until Wilfrid Laurier became leader that the Liberal Party emerged as a modern party. Laurier was able to capitalize on the Tories' alienation of French Canada by offering the Liberals as a credible alternative. Laurier was able to overcome the party's reputation for anti-clericalism that offended the still-powerful Quebec Roman Catholic Church. In English-speaking Canada, the Liberal Party's support for reciprocity made it popular among farmers, and helped cement the party's hold in the growing prairie provinces.[30]

Laurier led the Liberals to power in the 1896 election (in which he became the first Francophone Prime Minister) and oversaw a government that increased immigration to settle Western Canada. Laurier's government created the provinces of Saskatchewan and Alberta out of the North-West Territories and promoted the development of Canadian industry.[30]

20th century

Organization

 
William Lyon Mackenzie King, Prime Minister of Canada (1921–1926, 1926–1930, 1935–1948)

Until the early part of the century, the Liberal Party was a loose coalition of local, provincial, and regional bodies with a strong national party leader and caucus, but with an informal and regionalized extra-parliamentary organizational structure. There was no national membership of the party. An individual became a member by joining a provincial Liberal party. Laurier called the party's first national convention in 1893 to unite Liberal supporters behind a programme and build the campaign that successfully brought the party to power in 1896, but no efforts were made to create a formal national organization outside Parliament.

As a result of the party's defeats in the 1911 and 1917 federal elections, Laurier attempted to organize the party on a national level by creating three bodies: the Central Liberal Information Office, the National Liberal Advisory Committee, and the National Liberal Organization Committee. However, the advisory committee became dominated by members of Parliament and all three bodies were underfunded and competed with both local and provincial Liberal associations and the national caucus for authority. The party did organize the national party's second convention in 1919 to elect William Lyon Mackenzie King as Laurier's successor (Canada's first leadership convention), yet following the party's return to power in the 1921 federal election the nascent national party organizations were eclipsed by powerful ministers and local party organizations largely driven by patronage.

As a result of both the party's defeat in the 1930 federal election and the Beauharnois scandal, which highlighted the need for distance between the Liberal Party's parliamentary wing and campaign fundraising,[31] a central coordinating organization, the National Liberal Federation, was created in 1932 with Vincent Massey as its first president. With the Liberal return to power, the national organization languished except for occasional national committee meetings, such as in 1943 when Mackenzie King called a meeting of the federation (consisting of the national caucus and up to seven voting delegates per province) to approve a new platform for the party in anticipation of the end of World War II and prepare for a post-war election.[32] No national convention was held, however, until 1948; the Liberal Party held only three national conventions prior to the 1950s – in 1893, 1919 and 1948.[33] The National Liberal Federation remained largely dependent on provincial Liberal parties and was often ignored and bypassed the parliamentary party in the organization of election campaigns and the development of policy. With the defeat of the Liberals in the 1957 federal election and in particular 1958, reformers argued for the strengthening of the national party organization so it would not be dependent on provincial Liberal parties and patronage. A national executive and Council of presidents, consisting of the presidents of each Liberal riding association, were developed to give the party more co-ordination and national party conventions were regularly held in biennially where previously they had been held infrequently. Over time, provincial Liberal parties in most provinces were separated from provincial wings of the federal party and in a number of cases disaffiliated. By the 1980s, the National Liberal Federation was officially known as the Liberal Party of Canada.[34]

Canadian sovereignty

 
Louis St. Laurent, Prime Minister of Canada (1948–1957)

Under Laurier, and his successor William Lyon Mackenzie King, the Liberals promoted Canadian sovereignty and greater independence within the British Commonwealth. In Imperial Conferences held throughout the 1920s, Canadian Liberal governments often took the lead in arguing that the United Kingdom and the dominions should have equal status, and against proposals for an 'imperial parliament' that would have subsumed Canadian independence. After the King–Byng Affair of 1926, the Liberals argued that the Governor General of Canada should no longer be appointed on the recommendation of the British government. The decisions of the Imperial Conferences were formalized in the Statute of Westminster, which was actually passed in 1931, the year after the Liberals lost power.

The Liberals also promoted the idea of Canada being responsible for its own foreign and defence policy. Initially, it was Britain which determined external affairs for the dominion. In 1905, Laurier created the Department of External Affairs, and in 1909 he advised Governor General Earl Grey to appoint the first Secretary of State for External Affairs to Cabinet. It was also Laurier who first proposed the creation of a Canadian Navy in 1910. Mackenzie King recommended the appointment by Governor General Lord Byng of Vincent Massey as the first Canadian ambassador to Washington in 1926, marking the Liberal government's insistence on having direct relations with the United States, rather than having Britain act on Canada's behalf.

Social safety net

 
Lester B. Pearson, Prime Minister of Canada (1963–1968)

In the period just before and after the Second World War, the party became a champion of 'progressive social policy'.[35] As Prime Minister for most of the time between 1921 and 1948, King introduced several measures that led to the creation of Canada's social safety net. Bowing to popular pressure, he introduced the mother's allowance, a monthly payment to all mothers with young children. He also reluctantly introduced old age pensions when J. S. Woodsworth required it in exchange for his Co-operative Commonwealth Federation party's support of King's minority government.

Louis St. Laurent succeeded King as Liberal leader and Prime Minister on November 15, 1948. In the 1949 and 1953 federal elections, St. Laurent led the Liberal Party to two large majority governments. As Prime Minister he oversaw the joining of Newfoundland in Confederation as Canada's tenth province, he established equalization payments to the provinces, and continued with social reform with improvements in pensions and health insurance. In 1956, Canada played an important role in resolving the Suez Crisis, and contributed to the United Nations force in the Korean War. Canada enjoyed economic prosperity during St. Laurent's premiership and wartime debts were paid off. The Pipeline Debate proved the Liberal Party's undoing. Their attempt to pass legislation to build a natural gas pipeline from Alberta to central Canada was met with fierce disagreement in the House of Commons. In 1957, John Diefenbaker's Progressive Conservatives won a minority government and St. Laurent resigned as Prime Minister and Liberal leader.[36]

Lester B. Pearson was easily elected Liberal leader at the party's 1958 leadership convention. However, only months after becoming Liberal leader, Pearson led the party into the 1958 federal election that saw Diefenbaker's Progressive Conservatives win the largest majority government, by percentage of seats, in Canadian history.[37] The Progressive Conservatives won 206 of the 265 seats in the House of Commons, while the Liberals were reduced to just 48 seats. Pearson remained Liberal leader during this time and in the 1962 election managed to reduce Diefenbaker to a minority government. In the 1963 election Pearson led the Liberal Party back to victory, forming a minority government. Pearson served as Prime Minister for five years, winning a second election in 1965. While Pearson's leadership was considered poor and the Liberal Party never held a majority of the seats in parliament during his premiership, he left office in 1968 with an impressive legacy.[38] Pearson's government introduced Medicare, a new immigration act, the Canada Pension Plan, Canada Student Loans, the Canada Assistance Plan, and adopted the Maple Leaf as Canada's national flag.[39]

Pierre Trudeau

 
Pierre Elliott Trudeau, Prime Minister of Canada (1968–1979, 1980–1984)

Under Pierre Trudeau, the mission of a progressive social policy evolved into the goal of creating a "just society".[40] In the late 1970s, Trudeau stated that his Liberal Party adhered to the "radical centre".[41][42]

The Liberal Party under Trudeau promoted official bilingualism and passed the Official Languages Act, which gave French and English languages equal status in Canada.[1] Trudeau hoped that the promotion of bilingualism would cement Quebec's place in Confederation, and counter growing calls for an independent Quebec. The party hoped the policy would transform Canada into a country where English and French Canadians could live together, and allow Canadians to move to any part of the country without having to lose their language. Although this vision has yet to fully materialize, official bilingualism has helped to halt the decline of the French language outside of Quebec, and to ensure that all federal government services (including radio and television services provided by the government-owned Canadian Broadcasting Corporation/Radio-Canada) are available in both languages throughout the country.[43]

The Trudeau Liberals are also credited with support for state multiculturalism as a means of integrating immigrants into Canadian society without forcing them to shed their culture,[44] leading the party to build a base of support among recent immigrants and their children.[45] This marked the culmination of a decades-long shift in Liberal immigration policy, a reversal of pre-war racial attitudes that spurred discriminatory policies such as the Chinese Immigration Act of 1923[46] and the MS St. Louis incident.[47]

The most lasting effect of the Trudeau years has been the patriation of the Constitution of Canada and the creation of the Canadian Charter of Rights and Freedoms.[48][49] Trudeau's Liberals supported the concept of a strong, central government, and fought Quebec separatism, other forms of Quebec nationalism, and the granting of "distinct society" status to Quebec; however, such actions served as rallying cries for sovereigntists, and alienated many Francophone Quebeckers.

The other primary legacy of the Trudeau years has been financial. Net federal debt in fiscal 1968, just before Trudeau became Prime Minister, was about $18 billion CAD, or 26 percent of gross domestic product; by his final year in office, it had ballooned to over 200 billion—at 46 percent of GDP, nearly twice as large relative to the economy.[50]

 
Trudeau-era wordmark and logo

As the opposition

After Trudeau's retirement in 1984, many Liberals, such as Jean Chrétien and Clyde Wells, continued to adhere to Trudeau's concept of federalism. Others, such as John Turner, supported the failed Meech Lake and Charlottetown Constitutional Accords, which would have recognized Quebec as a "distinct society" and would have increased the powers of the provinces to the detriment of the federal government.

Trudeau stepped down as Prime Minister and party leader in 1984, as the Liberals were slipping in polls. At that year's leadership convention, Turner defeated Chrétien on the second ballot to become Prime Minister.[51] Immediately, upon taking office, Turner called a snap election, citing favourable internal polls. However, the party was hurt by numerous patronage appointments, many of which Turner had made supposedly in return for Trudeau retiring early. Also, they were unpopular in their traditional stronghold of Quebec because of the constitution repatriation which excluded that province. The Liberals lost power in the 1984 election, and were reduced to only 40 seats in the House of Commons. The Progressive Conservatives won a majority of the seats in every province, including Quebec. The 95-seat loss was the worst defeat in the party's history, and the worst defeat at the time for a governing party at the federal level. What was more, the New Democratic Party, successor to the Co-operative Commonwealth Federation, won only ten fewer seats than the Liberals, and some thought that the NDP under Ed Broadbent would push the Liberals to third-party status.[52]

The party began a long process of reconstruction.[1] A small group of young Liberal MPs, known as the Rat Pack, gained fame by criticizing the Tory government of Brian Mulroney at every turn. Also, despite public and backroom attempts to remove Turner as leader, he managed to consolidate his leadership at the 1986 review.

The 1988 election was notable for Turner's strong opposition to the Canada-U.S. Free Trade Agreement negotiated by Progressive Conservative Prime Minister Brian Mulroney. Although most Canadians voted for parties opposed to free trade, the Tories were returned with a majority government, and implemented the deal. The Liberals recovered from their near-meltdown of 1984, however, winning 83 seats and ending much of the talk of being eclipsed by the NDP, who won 43 seats.[1]

Jean Chrétien

 
Jean Chrétien, Prime Minister of Canada (1993–2003)

Turner announced that he would resign as leader of the Liberal Party on May 3, 1989. The Liberal Party set a leadership convention for June 23, 1990, in Calgary. Five candidates contested the leadership of the party and former Deputy Prime Minister Jean Chrétien, who had served in every Liberal cabinet since 1965, won on the first ballot.[53] Chrétien's Liberals campaigned in the 1993 election on the promise of renegotiating the North American Free Trade Agreement (NAFTA), and eliminating the Goods and Services Tax (GST). Just after the writ was dropped for the election, they issued the Red Book, an integrated and coherent approach to economic, social, environmental and foreign policy. This was unprecedented for a Canadian party.[1] Taking full advantage of the inability of Mulroney's successor, Kim Campbell, to overcome a large amount of antipathy toward Mulroney, they won a strong majority government with 177 seats—the third-best performance in party history, and their best since 1949. The Progressive Conservatives were cut down to only two seats, suffering a defeat even more severe than the one they had handed the Liberals nine years earlier. The Liberals were re-elected with a considerably reduced majority in 1997, but nearly tied their 1993 total in 2000.

For the next decade, the Liberals dominated Canadian politics in a fashion not seen since the early years of Confederation. This was because of the destruction of the "grand coalition" of Western socially conservative populists, Quebec nationalists, and fiscal conservatives from Ontario that had supported the Progressive Conservatives in 1984 and 1988. The Progressive Conservatives' Western support, for all practical purposes, transferred en masse to the Western-based Reform Party, which replaced the PCs as the major right-wing party in Canada. However, the new party's agenda was seen as too conservative for most Canadians. It only won one seat east of Manitoba in an election (but gained another in a floor-crossing). Even when Reform restructured into the Canadian Alliance, the party was virtually non-existent east of Manitoba, winning only 66 seats in 2000. Reform/Alliance was the official opposition from 1997 to 2003, but was never able to overcome wide perceptions that it was merely a Western protest party. The Quebec nationalists who had once supported the Tories largely switched their support to the sovereigntist Bloc Québécois, while the Tories' Ontario support largely moved to the Liberals. The PCs would never be a major force in Canadian politics again; while they rebounded to 20 seats in the next election, they won only two seats west of Quebec in the next decade.

Ontario and Quebec combine for a majority of seats in the House of Commons by virtue of Ontario's current population and Quebec's historic population (59 percent of the seats as of 2006). As a result, it is very difficult to form even a minority government without substantial support in Ontario and/or Quebec. No party has ever formed a majority government without winning the most seats in either Ontario or Quebec. It is mathematically possible to form a minority government without a strong base in either province, but such an undertaking is politically difficult. The Liberals were the only party with a strong base in both provinces, thus making them the only party capable of forming a government.

There was some disappointment as Liberals were not able to recover their traditional dominant position in Quebec, despite being led by a Quebecer from a strongly nationalist region of Quebec. The Bloc capitalized on discontent with the failure of the 1990 Meech Lake Accord and Chrétien's uncompromising stance on federalism (see below) to win the most seats in Quebec in every election from 1993, onward, even serving as the official opposition from 1993 to 1997. Chrétien's reputation in his home province never recovered after the 1990 leadership convention when rival Paul Martin forced him to declare his opposition to the Meech Lake Accord. However, the Liberals did increase their support in the next two elections because of infighting within the Bloc. In the 1997 election, although the Liberals finished with a thin majority, it was their gains in Quebec which were credited with offsetting their losses in the Maritime provinces. In particular, the 2000 election was a breakthrough for the Liberals after the PQ government's unpopular initiatives regarding consolidation of several Quebec urban areas into "megacities". Many federal Liberals also took credit for Charest's provincial election victory over the PQ in spring 2003. A series of by-elections allowed the Liberals to gain a majority of Quebec ridings for the first time since 1984.

 
Liberal Party logo, 1992–2004

The Chrétien Liberals more than made up for their shortfall in Quebec by building a strong base in Ontario. They reaped a substantial windfall from the votes of fiscally conservative and socially liberal voters who had previously voted Tory, as well as rapid growth in the Greater Toronto Area. They were also able to take advantage of massive vote splitting between the Tories and Reform/Alliance in rural areas of the province that had traditionally formed the backbone of provincial Tory governments. Combined with their historic dominance of Metro Toronto and northern Ontario, the Liberals dominated the province's federal politics even as the Tories won landslide majorities at the provincial level. In 1993, for example, the Liberals won all but one seat in Ontario, and came within 123 votes in Simcoe Centre of pulling off the first clean sweep of Canada's most populated province. They were able to retain their position as the largest party in the House by winning all but two seats in Ontario in the 1997 election. The Liberals were assured of at least a minority government once the Ontario results came in, but it was not clear until later in the night that they would retain their majority. In 2000, the Liberals won all but three seats in Ontario.

While the Chrétien Liberals campaigned from the left, their time in power is most marked by the cuts made to many social programs, including health transfers, in order to balance the federal budget.[54] Chrétien had supported the Charlottetown Accord while in opposition, but in power opposed major concessions to Quebec and other provincialist factions. In contrast to their promises during the 1993 campaign, they implemented only minor changes to NAFTA, embraced the free trade concept and—with the exception of the replacement of the GST with the Harmonized Sales Tax in some Atlantic provinces—broke their promise to replace the GST.

After a proposal for Quebec independence was narrowly defeated in the 1995 Quebec referendum, the Liberals passed the "Clarity Act", which outlines the federal government's preconditions for negotiating provincial independence.[55] In Chrétien's final days, he supported same-sex marriage and decriminalizing the possession of small quantities of marijuana.[56][57] Chrétien displeased the United States government when he pledged on March 17, 2003, that Canada would not support the 2003 invasion of Iraq.[58] A poll released shortly after showed widespread approval of Chrétien's decision by the Canadian public. The poll, which was conducted by EKOS for the Toronto Star and La Presse, found 71 percent of those questioned approved of the government's decision to not enter the United States-led invasion, with 27 percent expressing disapproval.[59]

21st century

Several trends started in 2003 which suggested the end of the Liberal Party's political dominance. Notably, there would be a high turnover of permanent party leaders, in contrast to their predecessors who usually served over two or more elections, particularly Trudeau and Chrétien who each led for over a decade.[60] The Liberals were also hampered by their inability to raise campaign money competitively after Chrétien passed a bill in 2003 which banned corporate donations, even though the Liberals had enjoyed by far the lion's share of this funding because of the then-divided opposition parties. It has been suggested that Chrétien, who had done nothing about election financing for his 10 years in office, could be seen as the idealist as he retired, while his rival and successor Paul Martin would have the burden of having to fight an election under the strict new rules.[61] Simon Fraser University professor Doug McArthur has noted that Martin's leadership campaign used aggressive tactics for the 2003 leadership convention, in attempting to end the contest before it could start by giving the impression that his bid was too strong for any other candidate to beat. McArthur blamed Martin's tactics for the ongoing sag in Liberal fortunes, as it discouraged activists who were not on side.[62]

Paul Martin

 
Paul Martin, Prime minister of Canada (2003–2006)

Paul Martin succeeded Chrétien as party leader and prime minister in 2003. Despite the personal rivalry between the two, Martin was the architect of the Liberals' economic policies as Minister of Finance during the 1990s. Chrétien left office with a high approval rating and Martin was expected to make inroads into Quebec and Western Canada, two regions of Canada where the Liberals had not attracted much support since the 1980s and 1990s, respectively. While his cabinet choices provoked some controversy over excluding many Chrétien supporters, it at first did little to hurt his popularity.

The political situation changed with the revelation of the sponsorship scandal, in which advertising agencies supporting the Liberal Party received grossly inflated commissions for their services. Having faced a divided conservative opposition for the past three elections, Liberals were seriously challenged by competition from the newly united Conservative Party led by Stephen Harper. The infighting between Martin and Chrétien's supporters also dogged the party. Nonetheless, by criticizing the Conservatives' social policies, the Liberals were able to draw progressive votes from the NDP which made the difference in several close races. On June 28, 2004 federal election, the Martin Liberals retained enough support to continue as the government, though they were reduced to a minority.

In the ensuing months, testimony from the Gomery Commission caused public opinion to turn sharply against the Liberals for the first time in over a decade. Despite the devastating revelations, only two Liberal MPs—David Kilgour (who had crossed the floor from the PC Party in 1990) and Pat O'Brien—left the party for reasons other than the scandal. Belinda Stronach, who crossed the floor from the Conservatives to the Liberals, gave Martin the number of votes needed, although barely, to hold onto power when an NDP-sponsored amendment to his budget was passed only by the Speaker's tiebreaking vote on May 19, 2005.

In November, the Liberals dropped in polls following the release of the first Gomery Report. Nonetheless, Martin turned down the NDP's conditions for continued support, as well as rejected an opposition proposal which would schedule a February 2006 election in return for passing several pieces of legislation. The Liberals thus lost the no-confidence vote on November 28; Martin thus became only the fifth prime minister to lose the confidence of the House, but the first to lose on a straight no-confidence motion. Because of the Christmas holiday, Martin advised Governor General Michaëlle Jean to dissolve Parliament and call an election for January 2006.

The Liberal campaign was dogged from start to finish by the sponsorship scandal, which was brought up by a Royal Canadian Mounted Police (RCMP) criminal investigation into the leak of the income trust announcement. Numerous gaffes, contrasting with a smoothly run Conservative campaign, put Liberals as many as ten points behind the Conservatives in opinion polling. They managed to recover some of their momentum by election night, but not enough to retain power. They won 103 seats, a net loss of 30 from when the writs were dropped, losing a similar number of seats in Ontario and Quebec to the Tories. However, the Liberals managed to capture the most seats in Ontario for the fifth straight election (54 to the Tories' 40), holding the Conservatives to a minority government. While the Conservatives captured many of Ontario's rural ridings, the Liberals retained most of the population-rich Greater Toronto Area. Many of these ridings, particularly the 905 region, had historically been bellwethers (the Liberals were nearly shut out of this region in 1979 and 1984), but demographic changes have resulted in high Liberal returns in recent years.

Martin resigned as parliamentary leader after the election and stepped down as Liberal leader on March 18, having previously promised to step down if he did not win a plurality.

On May 11, 2006, La Presse reported that the Government of Canada would file a lawsuit against the Liberal Party to recover all the money missing in the sponsorship program. Scott Brison told reporters that same day that the Liberals has already paid back the $1.14 million into the public purse; however, the Conservatives believed that there was as much as $40 million unaccounted for in the sponsorship program.[63]

Stéphane Dion

Main article: 2006 Liberal Party of Canada leadership election
 
Stéphane Dion makes a speech on October 10, 2008, in Brampton West. Former Prime Minister Jean Chrétien was among notable Liberals at this rally; this was his first time campaigning for anyone since retirement.

After their election defeat Martin chose not to take on the office of Leader of the Opposition. He stepped down as parliamentary leader of his party on February 1, and the Liberal caucus appointed Bill Graham, MP for Toronto Centre and outgoing Defence Minister, as his interim successor.[64] Martin officially resigned as leader in March, with Graham taking over on an interim basis.

The leadership election was set for December 2, 2006, in Montreal; however, a number of prominent members such as John Manley, Frank McKenna, Brian Tobin, and Allan Rock had already announced they would not enter the race to succeed Martin.[65] Throughout the campaign 12 candidates came forward to lead the party, but by the time of the leadership convention only eight people remained in the race; Martha Hall Findlay, Stéphane Dion, Michael Ignatieff, Gerard Kennedy, Bob Rae, Scott Brison, Ken Dryden, Joe Volpe.

Throughout the campaign Ignatieff, Rae, Dion and Kennedy were considered to be the only candidates with enough support to be able to win the leadership, with Ignatieff and Rae being considered the two front-runners.[66][67] However polling showed Ignatieff had little room to grow his support, while Dion was the second and third choice among a plurality of delegates.[68] At the leadership convention Ignatieff came out on top on the first ballot with 29.3 percent,[69] With Kennedy's support Dion was able to leapfrog both Rae and Ignatieff on the third ballot, eliminating Rae. On the fourth and final ballot Dion defeated Ignatieff to become leader of the Liberal Party.[70]

Following the leadership race the Liberal Party saw a bounce in support and surpassed the Conservative Party as the most popular party in Canada.[71] However, in the months and years to come the party's support gradually fell.[72] Dion's own popularity lagged considerably behind that of Prime Minister Harper's, and he often trailed NDP leader Jack Layton in opinion polls when Canadians were asked who would make the best Prime Minister.[72][73]

Dion campaigned on environmental sustainability during the leadership race, and created the "Green Shift" plan following his election as leader. The Green Shift proposed creating a carbon tax that would be coupled with reductions to income tax rates. The proposal was to tax greenhouse gas emissions, starting at $10 per tonne of CO2 and reaching $40 per tonne within four years.[74] The plan was a key policy for the party in the 2008 federal election, but it was not well received and was continuously attacked by both the Conservatives and NDP.[75][76][77][78] On election night the Liberal Party won 26.26 percent of the popular vote and 77 of the 308 seats in the House of Commons. At that time their popular support was the lowest in the party's history, and weeks later Dion announced he would step down as Liberal leader once his successor was chosen.[79]

Leadership campaign and coalition attempt

See also: 2009 Liberal Party of Canada leadership election and 2008–2009 Canadian parliamentary dispute

New Brunswick Member of Parliament Dominic LeBlanc was the first candidate to announce he would seek the leadership of the Liberal Party on October 27, 2008. Days later Bob Rae, who had finished third in 2006, announced he would also be a candidate for the leadership. The party executive met in early November and chose May 2, 2009, as the date to elect the next leader.[80] On November 13 Michael Ignatieff, who finished second in 2006, announced he would also be a candidate.

 
Michael Ignatieff speaks during a news conference in Toronto

On November 27, 2008, Minister of Finance Jim Flaherty provided the House of Commons with a fiscal update, within which were plans to cut government spending, suspend the ability of civil servants to strike until 2011, sell off some Crown assets to raise capital, and eliminate the existing $1.95 per vote subsidy parties garner in an election.[81][82] The opposition parties criticized the fiscal update, and announced they would not support it because it contained no stimulus money to spur Canada's economy and protect workers during the economic crisis.[83] With the Conservative Party only holding a minority of the seats in the House of Commons the government would be defeated if the opposition parties voted against the fiscal update.[83] With the Conservatives unwilling to budge on the proposals outlined in the fiscal update the Liberals and NDP signed an agreement to form a coalition government, with a written pledge of support from the Bloc Québécois.[84] Under the terms of the agreement Dion would be sworn in as Prime Minister, however he would only serve in the position until the next Liberal leader was chosen. Dion contacted Governor General Michaëlle Jean and advised her that he had the confidence of the House of Commons if Prime Minister Harper's government was to fall.[84] However, before the fiscal update could be voted on in the House of Commons Prime Minister Harper requested the Governor General to prorogue parliament until January 26, 2009, which she accepted.[85]

While polls showed Canadians were split on the idea of having either a coalition government or having the Conservatives continue to govern, it was clear that because of Dion's personal popularity they were not comfortable with him becoming Prime Minister.[86] Members of the Liberal Party therefore called on Dion to resign as leader immediately and for an interim leader to be chosen, this person would become the Prime Minister in case the Conservatives were defeated when parliament resumed in January.[87] With an estimated 70 percent of the Liberal caucus wanting Ignatieff to be named interim leader, Dion resigned the post on December 8, 2008 (effective December 10, upon Ignatieff's becoming interim leader).[87][88] LeBlanc announced on the same day that he was abandoning the Liberal leadership race and endorsing Ignatieff as the next leader.[89] The following day Rae announced he was also dropping out of the race and was placing his "full and unqualified" support to Ignatieff.[90]

Michael Ignatieff

With Ignatieff named interim leader of the party (on December 10), the Liberal's poll numbers saw significant gains, after they plummeted with the signing of the coalition agreement.[91][92] When parliament resumed on January 28, 2009, the Ignatieff Liberals agreed to support the budget as long as it included regular accountability reports, which the Conservatives accepted. This ended the possibility of the coalition government with the New Democrats.[93]

 
Graph of opinion polls conducted between the 2008 and 2011 elections

Throughout the Winter of 2008–09, opinion polls showed that while the Ignatieff led Liberals still trailed the Conservatives, their support had stabilized in the low 30 percent range. However, by the time Ignatieff was confirmed as party leader on May 2, 2009, the Liberal Party had a comfortable lead over the governing Conservatives.[94][95][96] After a summer where he was accused of being missing in action, Ignatieff announced on August 31, 2009, that the Liberals would not support the minority Conservative government.[97][98][99] After this announcement the Liberal Party's poll numbers, which had already declined over the summer, started to fall further behind the Conservatives.[100] On October 1, 2009, the Liberals put forth a non-confidence motion with the hope of defeating the government. However, the NDP abstained from voting and the Conservatives survived the confidence motion.[101]

 
The Liberal Party logo used from 2010 to 2014. In this and the subsequent logo, the stem of the maple leaf forms an acute accent, used in the word Libéral in French

The Liberal Party's attempt to force an election, just a year after the previous one, was reported as a miscalculation, as polls showed that most Canadians did not want another election.[102] Even after the government survived the confidence motion popularity for Ignatieff and his party continued to fall.[103] Over the next year and a half, with the exception of a brief period in early 2010, support for the Liberals remained below 30 percent, and behind the Conservatives.[104] While his predecessor Dion was criticized by the Conservatives as a "weak leader", Ignatieff was attacked as a "political opportunist".[60]

On March 25, 2011, Ignatieff introduced a motion of non-confidence against the Harper government to attempt to force a federal election after the government was found to be in Contempt of Parliament, the first such occurrence in Commonwealth history. The House of Commons passed the motion by 156–145.[105]

The Liberals had considerable momentum when the writ was dropped, and Ignatieff successfully squeezed NDP leader Jack Layton out of media attention, by issuing challenges to Harper for one-on-one debates.[106][107][108] In the first couple weeks of the campaign, Ignatieff kept his party in second place in the polls, and his personal ratings exceeded that of Layton for the first time.[109] However, opponents frequently criticized Ignatieff's perceived political opportunism, particularly during the leaders debates when Layton criticized Ignatieff for having a poor attendance record for Commons votes saying "You know, most Canadians, if they don't show up for work, they don't get a promotion". Ignatieff failed to defend himself against these charges, and the debates were said to be a turning point for his party's campaign.[110] Near the end of the campaign, a late surge in support for Layton and the NDP relegated Ignatieff and the Liberals to third in opinion polls.[111][112][113]

The Liberals took their biggest loss ever on the May 2, 2011, federal election. The result was a third-place finish, with only 19 percent of the vote and returning 34 seats in the House of Commons. Notably, their support in Toronto and Montreal, their power bases for the last two decades, all but vanished. All told, the Liberals won only 11 seats in Ontario (seven of which were in Toronto) and seven in Quebec (all in Montreal)—their fewest totals in either province. Newfoundland and Labrador was the only province with majority Liberal seats at 4 out of 7. They also won only four seats west of Ontario. The Conservatives won 40 percent of the vote and formed a majority government, while the NDP formed the Official Opposition winning 31 percent of the vote.[114]

This election marked the first time the Liberals were unable to form either government or the official opposition. Ignatieff was defeated in his own riding, and announced his resignation as Liberal leader shortly after. Bob Rae was chosen as the interim leader on May 25, 2011.[115]

Justin Trudeau

 
Justin Trudeau, Prime Minister of Canada (2015–present)

On April 14, 2013, Justin Trudeau, son of former Prime Minister Pierre Trudeau, was elected leader of the Liberal Party on the first ballot, winning 80% of the vote.[116] Following his win, support for the Liberal Party increased considerably, and the party moved into first place in public opinion polls.[117][118]

An initial surge in support in the polls following Trudeau's election wore off in the following year, in the face of Conservative ad campaign after Trudeau's win attempting to "[paint] him as a silly dilettante unfit for public office."[119]

In 2014, Trudeau removed all Liberal senators from the Liberal Party caucus. In announcing this, Trudeau said the purpose of the unelected upper chamber is to act as a check on the power of the prime minister, but the party structure interferes with that purpose.[12] Following this move, Liberal senators chose to keep the designation "Liberal" and sit together as a caucus, albeit not one supported by the Liberal Party of Canada. This independent group continued to refer to itself in publications as the Senate Liberal Caucus until 2019.[120]

By the time the 2015 federal election was called, the Liberals had been knocked back into third place. Trudeau and his advisors planned to mount a campaign based on economic stimulus in the hopes of regaining the mantle of being the party that best represented change from the New Democrats.[121]

 
Results of the 2015 Canadian federal election showing support for Liberal candidates by riding

Justin Trudeau's Liberals would win the 2015 election with 39.5 percent of the popular vote and 184 seats in dramatic fashion: becoming the first party to win a parliamentary majority after being reduced to third party status in a previous general election, besting Brian Mulroney's record for the largest seat increase by a party in a single election (111 in 1984), and winning the most seats in Quebec for the first time since 1980.[122][123][124] Chantal Hébert deemed the result "a Liberal comeback that is headed straight for the history books",[125] while Bloomberg's Josh Wingrove and Theophilos Argitis similarly described it as "capping the biggest political comeback in the country’s history."[126]

At the 2019 federal election, Trudeau's Liberal Party lost 20 seats in the House of Commons (lowering its total from 177 to 157) from the time of dissolution, they still won the most seats of any party—enough seats to allow Trudeau to form a minority government.[127][128] For the first time since 1979, the party that garnered the largest share of the national popular vote did not win the most seats; the Liberals under Trudeau had 33.1 per cent of the popular vote, while the Conservatives under Andrew Scheer had 34.4 per cent.[129][130] It was also the first time a government took power with less than 35 per cent of the national popular vote since the Conservatives of John A. Macdonald, in 1867, who had 34.8 per cent of the votes.[131]

In the 2021 federal election, Trudeau and the Liberals secured a third mandate and his second minority government after winning 160 seats. However, the Liberals again came in second in the national popular vote, behind the Conservatives.[132] They received 32.6 percent of the popular vote, the lowest percentage of the national popular vote for a governing party in Canadian history.[133]

In March 2022, Trudeau's Liberal Party agreed to a confidence and supply deal with the New Democratic Party.[134]

Systems and realignment model

Scholars and political experts have recently used a political realignment model to explain what was considered a collapse of a dominant party, and put its condition in long-term perspective. According to recent scholarship, there have been four party systems in Canada at the federal level since Confederation, each with its own distinctive pattern of social support, patronage relationships, leadership styles, and electoral strategies. Steve Patten identifies four party systems in Canada's political history:[135]

  • The first party system emerged from pre-Confederation colonial politics, had its "heyday" from 1896 to 1911 and lasted until the Conscription Crisis of 1917, and was characterized by local patronage administered by the two largest parties, the Liberals and the Conservatives.
  • The second system emerged following the First World War, and had its heyday from 1935 and 1957, was characterized by regionalism and saw the emergence of several protest parties, such as the Progressives, the Social Credit Party, and the Co-operative Commonwealth Federation.
  • The third system emerged in 1963 and had its heyday from 1968 to 1983 and began to unravel thereafter. The two largest parties were challenged by a strong third party, the New Democratic Party (successor to the CCF). Campaigns during this era became more national in scope because of electronic media, and involved a greater focus on leadership. The dominant policy of the era was Keynesian economics.
  • The fourth party system has involved the rise of the Reform Party, the Bloc Québécois, and the merger of the Canadian Alliance with the Progressive Conservatives. Most parties moved to one-member-one-vote leadership contests, and campaign finance laws were reformed in 2004. The fourth party system has been characterized by market-oriented policies that generally abandoned Keynesian policies, but maintained the welfare state.

Stephen Clarkson (2005) shows how the Liberal Party has dominated all the party systems, using different approaches. It began with a "clientelistic approach" under Laurier, which evolved into a "brokerage" system of the 1920s, 1930s and 1940s under Mackenzie King. The 1950s saw the emergence of a "pan-Canadian system", which lasted until the 1990s. The 1993 election – categorized by Clarkson as an electoral "earthquake" which "fragmented" the party system, saw the emergence of regional politics within a four party-system, whereby various groups championed regional issues and concerns. Clarkson concludes that the inherent bias built into the first-past-the-post system, has chiefly benefited the Liberals.[136]

Principles and policies

The principles of the party are based on liberalism as defined by various liberal theorists and include individual freedom for present and future generations, responsibility, human dignity, a just society, political freedom, religious freedom, national unity, equality of opportunity, cultural diversity, bilingualism, and multilateralism.[137][138] From the early twentieth century, the Liberal party has favoured a variety of "big tent" policies from both right and left of the political spectrum.[17] When it formed the government from 1993 to 2006, it championed balanced budgets, and eliminated the budget deficit completely from the federal budget in 1995 by reducing spending on social programs or delegating them to the provinces, and promised to replace the Goods and Services Tax in the party's famous Red Book.[139] It also legalized same-sex marriage.

2021 party platform

During the 2021 federal election, the Liberal Party of Canada introduced their platform, which included a "Gender and Diversity Impact Summary" for each chapter,[140] as well as six key categories. These included: the pandemic, housing, health care, the economy, climate change, and reconciliation.[141][142]

Key Liberal policies of the 2021 platform included:

  • Requiring travellers on interprovincial trains, commercial flights, cruise ships, and other federally regulated vessels be vaccinated against COVID-19.[140]
  • Making an investment of $6 billion—on top of $4 billion already committed—to support the elimination of health system waitlists.[140]
  • Providing various investments in order to build, preserve, or revitalize 1.4 million new homes by 2025–26.[140]
  • Allocating funds to spend $2 billion over the next five years on measures to address the legacy of residential schools with “truth, justice, and healing” initiatives.[141]
  • Re-introducing legislation within the first 100 days in office to eliminate the practice of gay conversion therapy for everyone.[140]
  • Achieving net-zero emissions by 2050.[140]
  • Presenting a National Action Plan on Combating Hate by 2022 as part of a renewed Anti-Racism Strategy, including the Black Canadians Justice Strategy.[140]
  • Updating the committed number to receive 40,000 Afghan refugees.[140]
  • Creating a minimum tax rule so that everyone who earns enough to qualify for the top bracket pays at least 15% each year (the tax rate paid by people earning less than $49,000), removing their ability to artificially pay no tax through excessive use of deductions and credits.[140]
  • Establishing a permanent Council of Economic Advisors to provide independent advice to government on long-term growth. The council will be gender- balanced and reflect Canada's diversity.[140]
  • Reform economic immigration programs to expand pathways to permanent residence for temporary foreign workers and former international students through the Express Entry points system.[140]
  • Setting aside a minimum of $1 billion to support provinces or territories who implement a ban on handguns across their jurisdiction.[140]

Provincial parties

Each province and one territory in Canada has its own Liberal Party; however, only those in New Brunswick, Newfoundland and Labrador, Nova Scotia, and Prince Edward Island are politically and organizationally affiliated with the federal Liberal Party. While other provincial Liberal parties may align ideologically with the federal party, they operate as completely separate entities. Those provincial parties have separate policies, finances, memberships, constituency associations, executives, conventions and offices.[14]

Electoral performance

Election Leader Votes % Seats +/– Position Government
1867 George Brown 60,818 22.70
62 / 180
   62   2nd Official Opposition
1872 Edward Blake 110,556 34.70
95 / 200
   33   2nd Official Opposition
1874 Alexander Mackenzie 128,455 39.50
129 / 206
   34   1st Majority
1878 180,074 33.10
63 / 206
   66   2nd Official Opposition
1882 Edward Blake 160,547 31.10
73 / 211
   10   2nd Official Opposition
1887 312,736 43.10
80 / 215
   7   2nd Official Opposition
1891 Wilfrid Laurier 350,512 45.20
90 / 215
   10   2nd Official Opposition
1896 401,425 41.40
117 / 213
   27   1st Majority
1900 477,758 50.30
128 / 213
   11   1st Majority
1904 521,041 50.90
137 / 214
   9   1st Majority
1908 570,311 48.90
133 / 221
   4   1st Majority
1911 596,871 45.82
85 / 221
   48   2nd Official Opposition
1917 729,756 38.80
82 / 235
   3   2nd Official Opposition
1921 Mackenzie King 1,285,998 41.15
118 / 235
   36   1st Majority
1925 1,252,684 39.74
100 / 245
   18   2nd Minority
Official Opposition
1926 1,397,031 42.90
116 / 245
   16   1st Minority
1930 1,716,798 45.50
89 / 245
   27   2nd Official Opposition
1935 1,967,839 44.68
173 / 245
   84   1st Majority
1940 2,365,979 51.32
179 / 245
   6   1st Majority
1945 2,086,545 39.78
118 / 245
   61   1st Minority
1949 Louis St. Laurent 2,874,813 49.15
191 / 262
   73   1st Majority
1953 2,731,633 48.43
169 / 265
   22   1st Majority
1957 2,702,573 40.50
105 / 265
   64   2nd Official Opposition
1958 Lester Pearson 2,432,953 33.40
48 / 265
   67   2nd Official Opposition
1962 2,846,589 36.97
99 / 265
   51   2nd Official Opposition
1963 3,276,996 41.48
128 / 265
   29   1st Minority
1965 3,099,521 40.18
131 / 265
   3   1st Minority
1968 Pierre Trudeau 3,686,801 45.37
154 / 264
   23   1st Majority
1972 3,717,804 38.42
109 / 264
   46   1st Minority
1974 4,102,853 43.15
141 / 264
   32   1st Majority
1979 4,595,319 40.11
114 / 282
   27   2nd Official Opposition
1980 4,855,425 44.34
147 / 282
   33   1st Majority
1984 John Turner 3,516,486 28.02
40 / 282
   107   2nd Official Opposition
1988 4,205,072 31.92
83 / 295
   43   2nd Official Opposition
1993 Jean Chrétien 5,647,952 41.24
177 / 295
   94   1st Majority
1997 4,994,277 38.46
155 / 301
   22   1st Majority
2000 5,252,031 40.85
172 / 301
   17   1st Majority
2004 Paul Martin 4,982,220 36.73
135 / 308
   37   1st Minority
2006 4,479,415 30.23
103 / 308
   32   2nd Official Opposition
2008 Stéphane Dion 3,633,185 26.26
77 / 308
   26   2nd Official Opposition
2011 Michael Ignatieff 2,783,175 18.91
34 / 308
   43   3rd Third party
2015 Justin Trudeau 6,928,055 39.47
184 / 338
   150   1st Majority
2019 6,018,728 33.12
157 / 338
   27   1st Minority
2021 5,556,629 32.62
160 / 338
   3   1st Minority

Party leadership

To date, only seven Liberal leaders never served as Prime Minister, three of whom were interim leaders.

Leaders

Portrait Name Term start Term end Date of birth Date of death Notes
  George Brown 1867 1867 November 29, 1818 May 9, 1880 Unofficial
(The leader of the Clear Grits, a forerunner of the federal Liberal Party)
  Edward Blake 1869 1870 October 13, 1833 March 1, 1912 Unofficial
  Alexander Mackenzie March 6, 1873 April 27, 1880 January 28, 1822 April 17, 1892 2nd Prime Minister (1st Liberal Prime Minister)
  Edward Blake May 4, 1880 June 2, 1887 October 13, 1833 March 1, 1912
  Wilfrid Laurier June 23, 1887 February 17, 1919 November 20, 1841 February 17, 1919 7th Prime Minister
  Daniel Duncan McKenzie February 17, 1919 August 7, 1919 January 8, 1859 June 8, 1927 Interim leader
  William Lyon
Mackenzie King		 August 7, 1919 August 7, 1948 December 17, 1874 July 22, 1950 10th Prime Minister
  Louis St. Laurent August 7, 1948 January 16, 1958 February 1, 1882 July 25, 1973 12th Prime Minister
  Lester B. Pearson January 16, 1958 April 6, 1968 April 23, 1897 December 27, 1972 14th Prime Minister
  Pierre Trudeau April 6, 1968 June 16, 1984 October 18, 1919 September 28, 2000 15th Prime Minister
  John Turner June 16, 1984 June 23, 1990 June 7, 1929 September 18, 2020 17th Prime Minister
  Jean Chrétien June 23, 1990 November 14, 2003 January 11, 1934 living 20th Prime Minister
  Paul Martin November 14, 2003 March 19, 2006 August 28, 1938 living 21st Prime Minister
  Bill Graham March 19, 2006 December 2, 2006 March 17, 1939 August 7, 2022 Interim leader
  Stéphane Dion December 2, 2006 December 10, 2008 September 28, 1955 living
  Michael Ignatieff December 10, 2008 May 25, 2011 May 12, 1947 living Interim leader until May 2, 2009 (when ratified as permanent leader)
  Bob Rae May 25, 2011 April 14, 2013 August 2, 1948 living Interim leader
  Justin Trudeau April 14, 2013 Incumbent December 25, 1971 living 23rd Prime Minister

Presidents

See also

Notes

  1. ^ The Liberal Party first appeared on the ballot as a unified party in the 1861 Province of Canada election, six years prior to Canadian Confederation.
  2. ^ All Liberal senators were expelled from the party's parliamentary caucus in 2014. Those senators, who had been appointed by Liberal prime ministers up to and including Paul Martin, sat from 2014 to 2019 as the Senate Liberal Caucus, which was not affiliated to or recognized by the Liberal Party. The Senate Liberal Caucus was dissolved in 2019 and replaced by the Progressive Senate Group.[11] Senators appointed since 2015 by Justin Trudeau have affiliated with an independent parliamentary group or sat as non-affiliated members.[12]
  3. ^ Brokerage politics is "a Canadian term for successful big tent parties that embody a pluralistic catch-all approach to appeal to the median Canadian voter ... adopting centrist policies and electoral coalitions to satisfy the short-term preferences of a majority of electors who are not located on the ideological fringe."[18][19][20][21][22]
  4. ^ Party was briefly out of power from 1930 to 1935.

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Further reading

  • Bickerton, James, and Alain G. Gagnon. Canadian Politics (5th ed. 2009), 415pp; university textbook
  • Bliss, Michael. Right Honourable Men: The Descent of Canadian Politics from Macdonald to Mulroney (1994), essays on Prime Ministers
  • Carty, R. Kenneth. Big Tent Politics: The Liberal Party’s Long Mastery of Canada’s Public Life (2015)
  • Clarkson, Stephen. The Big Red Machine: How the Liberal Party Dominates Canadian Politics (2005)
  • Cohen, Andrew, and J. L. Granatstein, eds. Trudeau's Shadow: the life and legacy of Pierre Elliott Trudeau (1999).
  • Gagnon, Alain G., and Brian Tanguay. Canadian Parties in Transition (3rd ed. 2007), 574pp; university textbook
  • Granatstein, J.L. Mackenzie King: His Life and World (1977).
  • Hillmer, Norman, and Steven Azzi. "Canada's Best Prime Ministers", Maclean's June 20, 2011 online
  • Jeffrey, Brooke. Divided Loyalties: The Liberal Party of Canada, 1984–2008 (2010) excerpt and text search
  • Jeffrey, Brooke. Road to Redemption: The Liberal Party of Canada, 2006-2019 (2020)
  • Koop, Royce. "Professionalism, Sociability and the Liberal Party in the Constituencies." Canadian Journal of Political Science (2010) 43#04 pp: 893–913.
  • McCall, Christina; Stephen Clarkson. "Liberal Party". The Canadian Encyclopedia.
  • McCall, Christina. Grits: an intimate portrait of the Liberal Party (Macmillan of Canada, 1982)
  • Neatby, H. Blair. Laurier and a Liberal Quebec: A Study in Political Management (1973)
  • Whitaker, Reginald. The Government Party: Organizing and Financing the Liberal Party of Canada, 1930–1958 (1977)
  • Wallace, W.S. (1948). "History of the Liberal Party of Canada". The Encyclopedia of Canada. Vol. IV. Toronto: University Associates of Canada. pp. 75–76.
  • Wearing, Joseph. The L-Shaped Party: The Liberal Party of Canada, 1958–1980 (McGraw-Hill Ryerson, 1981)

External links

  • Official website
  • Liberal Party of Canada - Canadian Political Parties and Political Interest Groups - Web Archive created by the University of Toronto Libraries
  • The Liberal Party of Canada Constitution June 19, 2019, at the Wayback Machine
  • Canadian Encyclopedia entry on the Liberal Party October 25, 2015, at the Wayback Machine
  • Liberal Party of Canada fonds at Library and Archives Canada
  •   Media related to Liberal Party of Canada at Wikimedia Commons
  •   Liberal Party of Canada at Wikinews
  •   Works related to Liberal Party of Canada at Wikisource
  • Liberal Party of Canada on Twitter

January 10, 2023
liberal, party, canada, other, liberal, political, parties, canada, liberalism, canada, current, parties, french, parti, libéral, canada, federal, political, party, canada, party, espouses, principles, liberalism, generally, sits, centre, centre, left, canadia. For other liberal political parties in Canada see Liberalism in Canada Current parties The Liberal Party of Canada French Parti liberal du Canada is a federal political party in Canada The party espouses the principles of liberalism 6 13 14 and generally sits at the centre to centre left of the Canadian political spectrum with their rival the Conservative Party positioned to their right and the New Democratic Party who at times aligned itself with the Liberals during minority governments positioned to their left 6 15 16 The party is described as big tent 17 practising brokerage politics c attracting support from a broad spectrum of voters 23 The Liberal Party is the longest serving and oldest active federal political party in the country and has dominated federal politics of Canada for much of its history holding power for almost 70 years of the 20th century 24 15 As a result it has sometimes been referred to as Canada s natural governing party 25 17 Liberal Party of Canada Parti liberal du CanadaAbbreviationLPC English PLC French LeaderJustin TrudeauPresidentSuzanne CowanHouse leaderMark HollandFounderGeorge BrownFounded1861 162 years ago 1861 a 1 Preceded byClear Grits Canada West Parti rouge Canada East HeadquartersConstitution Square350 Albert StreetSuite 920Ottawa OntarioK1P 6M8Youth wingYoung Liberals of CanadaIdeologyLiberalism Canadian Social liberalism 2 3 4 5 Political positionCentre 6 7 8 to centre left 8 9 International affiliationLiberal International 10 Colours RedSenate b 0 105House of Commons158 338Websitewww wbr liberal wbr caPolitics of CanadaPolitical partiesElectionsThe party first came into power in 1873 under Alexander Mackenzie but were voted out five years later due to the economic conditions at the time They would not come back to office until 1896 Wilfrid Laurier was prime minister from that year until the party s defeat in 1911 and his tenure was marked by several compromises between English and French Canada From the early 1920s until the mid 1950s d the Liberal Party under Prime Ministers William Lyon Mackenzie King and Louis St Laurent gradually built a Canadian welfare state The Liberals signature policies and legislative decisions include universal health care the Canada Pension Plan Canada Student Loans the establishment of the Royal Canadian Navy multilateralism official bilingualism official multiculturalism gun control the patriation of the Constitution of Canada and the establishment of the Canadian Charter of Rights and Freedoms the Clarity Act legalizing same sex marriage euthanasia and cannabis national carbon pricing and expanded access to abortion 13 26 27 28 The Liberal Party led by Justin Trudeau since 2013 won a majority government in the 2015 federal election In both the federal elections of 2019 and 2021 the party was re elected with a minority government Contents 1 History 1 1 19th century 1 1 1 Origins 1 1 2 Confederation 1 1 3 Wilfrid Laurier 1 2 20th century 1 2 1 Organization 1 2 2 Canadian sovereignty 1 2 3 Social safety net 1 2 4 Pierre Trudeau 1 2 5 As the opposition 1 2 6 Jean Chretien 1 3 21st century 1 3 1 Paul Martin 1 3 2 Stephane Dion 1 3 3 Leadership campaign and coalition attempt 1 3 4 Michael Ignatieff 1 3 5 Justin Trudeau 1 4 Systems and realignment model 2 Principles and policies 2 1 2021 party platform 3 Provincial parties 4 Electoral performance 5 Party leadership 5 1 Leaders 5 2 Presidents 6 See also 7 Notes 8 References 9 Further reading 10 External linksHistory EditMain article History of the Liberal Party of Canada 19th century Edit Origins Edit See also Rebellions of 1837 The Liberals are descended from the mid 19th century Reformers who advocated for responsible government throughout British North America 1 These included George Brown Alexander Mackenzie Robert Baldwin William Lyon Mackenzie and the Clear Grits in Upper Canada Joseph Howe in Nova Scotia and the Patriotes and Rouges in Lower Canada led by figures such as Louis Joseph Papineau The Clear Grits and Parti rouge sometimes functioned as a united bloc in the legislature of the Province of Canada beginning in 1854 and a united Liberal Party combining both English and French Canadian members was formed in 1861 1 Confederation Edit At the time of Confederation of the former British colonies of Canada now Ontario and Quebec New Brunswick and Nova Scotia the radical Liberals were marginalized by the more pragmatic Conservative coalition assembled under Sir John A Macdonald In the 29 years after Confederation the Liberals were consigned to opposition with the exception of one stint in government 1 Alexander Mackenzie was the de facto leader of the Official Opposition after Confederation and finally agreed to become the first official leader of the Liberal Party in 1873 He was able to lead the party to power for the first time in 1873 after the Macdonald government resigned over the Pacific Scandal Mackenzie subsequently won the 1874 election and served as Prime Minister for an additional four years During the five years the Liberal government brought in many reforms including the replacement of open voting by secret ballot confining elections to one day and the creation of the Supreme Court of Canada the Royal Military College of Canada and the Office of the Auditor General however the party was only able to build a solid support base in Ontario and in 1878 lost the government to Macdonald 1 The Liberals would spend the next 18 years in opposition Wilfrid Laurier Edit Sir Wilfrid Laurier Prime Minister of Canada 1896 1911 In their early history the Liberals were the party of continentalism and opposition to imperialism The Liberals also became identified with the aspirations of Quebecers as a result of the growing hostility of French Canadians to the Conservatives The Conservatives lost the support of French Canadians because of the role of Conservative governments in the execution of Louis Riel 29 and their role in the Conscription Crisis of 1917 and especially their opposition to French schools in provinces besides Quebec It was not until Wilfrid Laurier became leader that the Liberal Party emerged as a modern party Laurier was able to capitalize on the Tories alienation of French Canada by offering the Liberals as a credible alternative Laurier was able to overcome the party s reputation for anti clericalism that offended the still powerful Quebec Roman Catholic Church In English speaking Canada the Liberal Party s support for reciprocity made it popular among farmers and helped cement the party s hold in the growing prairie provinces 30 Laurier led the Liberals to power in the 1896 election in which he became the first Francophone Prime Minister and oversaw a government that increased immigration to settle Western Canada Laurier s government created the provinces of Saskatchewan and Alberta out of the North West Territories and promoted the development of Canadian industry 30 20th century Edit Organization Edit William Lyon Mackenzie King Prime Minister of Canada 1921 1926 1926 1930 1935 1948 Until the early part of the century the Liberal Party was a loose coalition of local provincial and regional bodies with a strong national party leader and caucus but with an informal and regionalized extra parliamentary organizational structure There was no national membership of the party An individual became a member by joining a provincial Liberal party Laurier called the party s first national convention in 1893 to unite Liberal supporters behind a programme and build the campaign that successfully brought the party to power in 1896 but no efforts were made to create a formal national organization outside Parliament As a result of the party s defeats in the 1911 and 1917 federal elections Laurier attempted to organize the party on a national level by creating three bodies the Central Liberal Information Office the National Liberal Advisory Committee and the National Liberal Organization Committee However the advisory committee became dominated by members of Parliament and all three bodies were underfunded and competed with both local and provincial Liberal associations and the national caucus for authority The party did organize the national party s second convention in 1919 to elect William Lyon Mackenzie King as Laurier s successor Canada s first leadership convention yet following the party s return to power in the 1921 federal election the nascent national party organizations were eclipsed by powerful ministers and local party organizations largely driven by patronage As a result of both the party s defeat in the 1930 federal election and the Beauharnois scandal which highlighted the need for distance between the Liberal Party s parliamentary wing and campaign fundraising 31 a central coordinating organization the National Liberal Federation was created in 1932 with Vincent Massey as its first president With the Liberal return to power the national organization languished except for occasional national committee meetings such as in 1943 when Mackenzie King called a meeting of the federation consisting of the national caucus and up to seven voting delegates per province to approve a new platform for the party in anticipation of the end of World War II and prepare for a post war election 32 No national convention was held however until 1948 the Liberal Party held only three national conventions prior to the 1950s in 1893 1919 and 1948 33 The National Liberal Federation remained largely dependent on provincial Liberal parties and was often ignored and bypassed the parliamentary party in the organization of election campaigns and the development of policy With the defeat of the Liberals in the 1957 federal election and in particular 1958 reformers argued for the strengthening of the national party organization so it would not be dependent on provincial Liberal parties and patronage A national executive and Council of presidents consisting of the presidents of each Liberal riding association were developed to give the party more co ordination and national party conventions were regularly held in biennially where previously they had been held infrequently Over time provincial Liberal parties in most provinces were separated from provincial wings of the federal party and in a number of cases disaffiliated By the 1980s the National Liberal Federation was officially known as the Liberal Party of Canada 34 Canadian sovereignty Edit Louis St Laurent Prime Minister of Canada 1948 1957 Under Laurier and his successor William Lyon Mackenzie King the Liberals promoted Canadian sovereignty and greater independence within the British Commonwealth In Imperial Conferences held throughout the 1920s Canadian Liberal governments often took the lead in arguing that the United Kingdom and the dominions should have equal status and against proposals for an imperial parliament that would have subsumed Canadian independence After the King Byng Affair of 1926 the Liberals argued that the Governor General of Canada should no longer be appointed on the recommendation of the British government The decisions of the Imperial Conferences were formalized in the Statute of Westminster which was actually passed in 1931 the year after the Liberals lost power The Liberals also promoted the idea of Canada being responsible for its own foreign and defence policy Initially it was Britain which determined external affairs for the dominion In 1905 Laurier created the Department of External Affairs and in 1909 he advised Governor General Earl Grey to appoint the first Secretary of State for External Affairs to Cabinet It was also Laurier who first proposed the creation of a Canadian Navy in 1910 Mackenzie King recommended the appointment by Governor General Lord Byng of Vincent Massey as the first Canadian ambassador to Washington in 1926 marking the Liberal government s insistence on having direct relations with the United States rather than having Britain act on Canada s behalf Social safety net Edit Lester B Pearson Prime Minister of Canada 1963 1968 In the period just before and after the Second World War the party became a champion of progressive social policy 35 As Prime Minister for most of the time between 1921 and 1948 King introduced several measures that led to the creation of Canada s social safety net Bowing to popular pressure he introduced the mother s allowance a monthly payment to all mothers with young children He also reluctantly introduced old age pensions when J S Woodsworth required it in exchange for his Co operative Commonwealth Federation party s support of King s minority government Louis St Laurent succeeded King as Liberal leader and Prime Minister on November 15 1948 In the 1949 and 1953 federal elections St Laurent led the Liberal Party to two large majority governments As Prime Minister he oversaw the joining of Newfoundland in Confederation as Canada s tenth province he established equalization payments to the provinces and continued with social reform with improvements in pensions and health insurance In 1956 Canada played an important role in resolving the Suez Crisis and contributed to the United Nations force in the Korean War Canada enjoyed economic prosperity during St Laurent s premiership and wartime debts were paid off The Pipeline Debate proved the Liberal Party s undoing Their attempt to pass legislation to build a natural gas pipeline from Alberta to central Canada was met with fierce disagreement in the House of Commons In 1957 John Diefenbaker s Progressive Conservatives won a minority government and St Laurent resigned as Prime Minister and Liberal leader 36 Lester B Pearson was easily elected Liberal leader at the party s 1958 leadership convention However only months after becoming Liberal leader Pearson led the party into the 1958 federal election that saw Diefenbaker s Progressive Conservatives win the largest majority government by percentage of seats in Canadian history 37 The Progressive Conservatives won 206 of the 265 seats in the House of Commons while the Liberals were reduced to just 48 seats Pearson remained Liberal leader during this time and in the 1962 election managed to reduce Diefenbaker to a minority government In the 1963 election Pearson led the Liberal Party back to victory forming a minority government Pearson served as Prime Minister for five years winning a second election in 1965 While Pearson s leadership was considered poor and the Liberal Party never held a majority of the seats in parliament during his premiership he left office in 1968 with an impressive legacy 38 Pearson s government introduced Medicare a new immigration act the Canada Pension Plan Canada Student Loans the Canada Assistance Plan and adopted the Maple Leaf as Canada s national flag 39 Pierre Trudeau Edit Pierre Elliott Trudeau Prime Minister of Canada 1968 1979 1980 1984 Under Pierre Trudeau the mission of a progressive social policy evolved into the goal of creating a just society 40 In the late 1970s Trudeau stated that his Liberal Party adhered to the radical centre 41 42 The Liberal Party under Trudeau promoted official bilingualism and passed the Official Languages Act which gave French and English languages equal status in Canada 1 Trudeau hoped that the promotion of bilingualism would cement Quebec s place in Confederation and counter growing calls for an independent Quebec The party hoped the policy would transform Canada into a country where English and French Canadians could live together and allow Canadians to move to any part of the country without having to lose their language Although this vision has yet to fully materialize official bilingualism has helped to halt the decline of the French language outside of Quebec and to ensure that all federal government services including radio and television services provided by the government owned Canadian Broadcasting Corporation Radio Canada are available in both languages throughout the country 43 The Trudeau Liberals are also credited with support for state multiculturalism as a means of integrating immigrants into Canadian society without forcing them to shed their culture 44 leading the party to build a base of support among recent immigrants and their children 45 This marked the culmination of a decades long shift in Liberal immigration policy a reversal of pre war racial attitudes that spurred discriminatory policies such as the Chinese Immigration Act of 1923 46 and the MS St Louis incident 47 The most lasting effect of the Trudeau years has been the patriation of the Constitution of Canada and the creation of the Canadian Charter of Rights and Freedoms 48 49 Trudeau s Liberals supported the concept of a strong central government and fought Quebec separatism other forms of Quebec nationalism and the granting of distinct society status to Quebec however such actions served as rallying cries for sovereigntists and alienated many Francophone Quebeckers The other primary legacy of the Trudeau years has been financial Net federal debt in fiscal 1968 just before Trudeau became Prime Minister was about 18 billion CAD or 26 percent of gross domestic product by his final year in office it had ballooned to over 200 billion at 46 percent of GDP nearly twice as large relative to the economy 50 Trudeau era wordmark and logo As the opposition Edit After Trudeau s retirement in 1984 many Liberals such as Jean Chretien and Clyde Wells continued to adhere to Trudeau s concept of federalism Others such as John Turner supported the failed Meech Lake and Charlottetown Constitutional Accords which would have recognized Quebec as a distinct society and would have increased the powers of the provinces to the detriment of the federal government Trudeau stepped down as Prime Minister and party leader in 1984 as the Liberals were slipping in polls At that year s leadership convention Turner defeated Chretien on the second ballot to become Prime Minister 51 Immediately upon taking office Turner called a snap election citing favourable internal polls However the party was hurt by numerous patronage appointments many of which Turner had made supposedly in return for Trudeau retiring early Also they were unpopular in their traditional stronghold of Quebec because of the constitution repatriation which excluded that province The Liberals lost power in the 1984 election and were reduced to only 40 seats in the House of Commons The Progressive Conservatives won a majority of the seats in every province including Quebec The 95 seat loss was the worst defeat in the party s history and the worst defeat at the time for a governing party at the federal level What was more the New Democratic Party successor to the Co operative Commonwealth Federation won only ten fewer seats than the Liberals and some thought that the NDP under Ed Broadbent would push the Liberals to third party status 52 The party began a long process of reconstruction 1 A small group of young Liberal MPs known as the Rat Pack gained fame by criticizing the Tory government of Brian Mulroney at every turn Also despite public and backroom attempts to remove Turner as leader he managed to consolidate his leadership at the 1986 review The 1988 election was notable for Turner s strong opposition to the Canada U S Free Trade Agreement negotiated by Progressive Conservative Prime Minister Brian Mulroney Although most Canadians voted for parties opposed to free trade the Tories were returned with a majority government and implemented the deal The Liberals recovered from their near meltdown of 1984 however winning 83 seats and ending much of the talk of being eclipsed by the NDP who won 43 seats 1 Jean Chretien Edit Jean Chretien Prime Minister of Canada 1993 2003 Turner announced that he would resign as leader of the Liberal Party on May 3 1989 The Liberal Party set a leadership convention for June 23 1990 in Calgary Five candidates contested the leadership of the party and former Deputy Prime Minister Jean Chretien who had served in every Liberal cabinet since 1965 won on the first ballot 53 Chretien s Liberals campaigned in the 1993 election on the promise of renegotiating the North American Free Trade Agreement NAFTA and eliminating the Goods and Services Tax GST Just after the writ was dropped for the election they issued the Red Book an integrated and coherent approach to economic social environmental and foreign policy This was unprecedented for a Canadian party 1 Taking full advantage of the inability of Mulroney s successor Kim Campbell to overcome a large amount of antipathy toward Mulroney they won a strong majority government with 177 seats the third best performance in party history and their best since 1949 The Progressive Conservatives were cut down to only two seats suffering a defeat even more severe than the one they had handed the Liberals nine years earlier The Liberals were re elected with a considerably reduced majority in 1997 but nearly tied their 1993 total in 2000 For the next decade the Liberals dominated Canadian politics in a fashion not seen since the early years of Confederation This was because of the destruction of the grand coalition of Western socially conservative populists Quebec nationalists and fiscal conservatives from Ontario that had supported the Progressive Conservatives in 1984 and 1988 The Progressive Conservatives Western support for all practical purposes transferred en masse to the Western based Reform Party which replaced the PCs as the major right wing party in Canada However the new party s agenda was seen as too conservative for most Canadians It only won one seat east of Manitoba in an election but gained another in a floor crossing Even when Reform restructured into the Canadian Alliance the party was virtually non existent east of Manitoba winning only 66 seats in 2000 Reform Alliance was the official opposition from 1997 to 2003 but was never able to overcome wide perceptions that it was merely a Western protest party The Quebec nationalists who had once supported the Tories largely switched their support to the sovereigntist Bloc Quebecois while the Tories Ontario support largely moved to the Liberals The PCs would never be a major force in Canadian politics again while they rebounded to 20 seats in the next election they won only two seats west of Quebec in the next decade Ontario and Quebec combine for a majority of seats in the House of Commons by virtue of Ontario s current population and Quebec s historic population 59 percent of the seats as of 2006 update As a result it is very difficult to form even a minority government without substantial support in Ontario and or Quebec No party has ever formed a majority government without winning the most seats in either Ontario or Quebec It is mathematically possible to form a minority government without a strong base in either province but such an undertaking is politically difficult The Liberals were the only party with a strong base in both provinces thus making them the only party capable of forming a government There was some disappointment as Liberals were not able to recover their traditional dominant position in Quebec despite being led by a Quebecer from a strongly nationalist region of Quebec The Bloc capitalized on discontent with the failure of the 1990 Meech Lake Accord and Chretien s uncompromising stance on federalism see below to win the most seats in Quebec in every election from 1993 onward even serving as the official opposition from 1993 to 1997 Chretien s reputation in his home province never recovered after the 1990 leadership convention when rival Paul Martin forced him to declare his opposition to the Meech Lake Accord However the Liberals did increase their support in the next two elections because of infighting within the Bloc In the 1997 election although the Liberals finished with a thin majority it was their gains in Quebec which were credited with offsetting their losses in the Maritime provinces In particular the 2000 election was a breakthrough for the Liberals after the PQ government s unpopular initiatives regarding consolidation of several Quebec urban areas into megacities Many federal Liberals also took credit for Charest s provincial election victory over the PQ in spring 2003 A series of by elections allowed the Liberals to gain a majority of Quebec ridings for the first time since 1984 Liberal Party logo 1992 2004 The Chretien Liberals more than made up for their shortfall in Quebec by building a strong base in Ontario They reaped a substantial windfall from the votes of fiscally conservative and socially liberal voters who had previously voted Tory as well as rapid growth in the Greater Toronto Area They were also able to take advantage of massive vote splitting between the Tories and Reform Alliance in rural areas of the province that had traditionally formed the backbone of provincial Tory governments Combined with their historic dominance of Metro Toronto and northern Ontario the Liberals dominated the province s federal politics even as the Tories won landslide majorities at the provincial level In 1993 for example the Liberals won all but one seat in Ontario and came within 123 votes in Simcoe Centre of pulling off the first clean sweep of Canada s most populated province They were able to retain their position as the largest party in the House by winning all but two seats in Ontario in the 1997 election The Liberals were assured of at least a minority government once the Ontario results came in but it was not clear until later in the night that they would retain their majority In 2000 the Liberals won all but three seats in Ontario While the Chretien Liberals campaigned from the left their time in power is most marked by the cuts made to many social programs including health transfers in order to balance the federal budget 54 Chretien had supported the Charlottetown Accord while in opposition but in power opposed major concessions to Quebec and other provincialist factions In contrast to their promises during the 1993 campaign they implemented only minor changes to NAFTA embraced the free trade concept and with the exception of the replacement of the GST with the Harmonized Sales Tax in some Atlantic provinces broke their promise to replace the GST After a proposal for Quebec independence was narrowly defeated in the 1995 Quebec referendum the Liberals passed the Clarity Act which outlines the federal government s preconditions for negotiating provincial independence 55 In Chretien s final days he supported same sex marriage and decriminalizing the possession of small quantities of marijuana 56 57 Chretien displeased the United States government when he pledged on March 17 2003 that Canada would not support the 2003 invasion of Iraq 58 A poll released shortly after showed widespread approval of Chretien s decision by the Canadian public The poll which was conducted by EKOS for the Toronto Star and La Presse found 71 percent of those questioned approved of the government s decision to not enter the United States led invasion with 27 percent expressing disapproval 59 21st century Edit Several trends started in 2003 which suggested the end of the Liberal Party s political dominance Notably there would be a high turnover of permanent party leaders in contrast to their predecessors who usually served over two or more elections particularly Trudeau and Chretien who each led for over a decade 60 The Liberals were also hampered by their inability to raise campaign money competitively after Chretien passed a bill in 2003 which banned corporate donations even though the Liberals had enjoyed by far the lion s share of this funding because of the then divided opposition parties It has been suggested that Chretien who had done nothing about election financing for his 10 years in office could be seen as the idealist as he retired while his rival and successor Paul Martin would have the burden of having to fight an election under the strict new rules 61 Simon Fraser University professor Doug McArthur has noted that Martin s leadership campaign used aggressive tactics for the 2003 leadership convention in attempting to end the contest before it could start by giving the impression that his bid was too strong for any other candidate to beat McArthur blamed Martin s tactics for the ongoing sag in Liberal fortunes as it discouraged activists who were not on side 62 Paul Martin Edit Paul Martin Prime minister of Canada 2003 2006 Paul Martin succeeded Chretien as party leader and prime minister in 2003 Despite the personal rivalry between the two Martin was the architect of the Liberals economic policies as Minister of Finance during the 1990s Chretien left office with a high approval rating and Martin was expected to make inroads into Quebec and Western Canada two regions of Canada where the Liberals had not attracted much support since the 1980s and 1990s respectively While his cabinet choices provoked some controversy over excluding many Chretien supporters it at first did little to hurt his popularity The political situation changed with the revelation of the sponsorship scandal in which advertising agencies supporting the Liberal Party received grossly inflated commissions for their services Having faced a divided conservative opposition for the past three elections Liberals were seriously challenged by competition from the newly united Conservative Party led by Stephen Harper The infighting between Martin and Chretien s supporters also dogged the party Nonetheless by criticizing the Conservatives social policies the Liberals were able to draw progressive votes from the NDP which made the difference in several close races On June 28 2004 federal election the Martin Liberals retained enough support to continue as the government though they were reduced to a minority In the ensuing months testimony from the Gomery Commission caused public opinion to turn sharply against the Liberals for the first time in over a decade Despite the devastating revelations only two Liberal MPs David Kilgour who had crossed the floor from the PC Party in 1990 and Pat O Brien left the party for reasons other than the scandal Belinda Stronach who crossed the floor from the Conservatives to the Liberals gave Martin the number of votes needed although barely to hold onto power when an NDP sponsored amendment to his budget was passed only by the Speaker s tiebreaking vote on May 19 2005 In November the Liberals dropped in polls following the release of the first Gomery Report Nonetheless Martin turned down the NDP s conditions for continued support as well as rejected an opposition proposal which would schedule a February 2006 election in return for passing several pieces of legislation The Liberals thus lost the no confidence vote on November 28 Martin thus became only the fifth prime minister to lose the confidence of the House but the first to lose on a straight no confidence motion Because of the Christmas holiday Martin advised Governor General Michaelle Jean to dissolve Parliament and call an election for January 2006 The Liberal campaign was dogged from start to finish by the sponsorship scandal which was brought up by a Royal Canadian Mounted Police RCMP criminal investigation into the leak of the income trust announcement Numerous gaffes contrasting with a smoothly run Conservative campaign put Liberals as many as ten points behind the Conservatives in opinion polling They managed to recover some of their momentum by election night but not enough to retain power They won 103 seats a net loss of 30 from when the writs were dropped losing a similar number of seats in Ontario and Quebec to the Tories However the Liberals managed to capture the most seats in Ontario for the fifth straight election 54 to the Tories 40 holding the Conservatives to a minority government While the Conservatives captured many of Ontario s rural ridings the Liberals retained most of the population rich Greater Toronto Area Many of these ridings particularly the 905 region had historically been bellwethers the Liberals were nearly shut out of this region in 1979 and 1984 but demographic changes have resulted in high Liberal returns in recent years Martin resigned as parliamentary leader after the election and stepped down as Liberal leader on March 18 having previously promised to step down if he did not win a plurality On May 11 2006 La Presse reported that the Government of Canada would file a lawsuit against the Liberal Party to recover all the money missing in the sponsorship program Scott Brison told reporters that same day that the Liberals has already paid back the 1 14 million into the public purse however the Conservatives believed that there was as much as 40 million unaccounted for in the sponsorship program 63 Stephane Dion Edit Main article 2006 Liberal Party of Canada leadership election Stephane Dion makes a speech on October 10 2008 in Brampton West Former Prime Minister Jean Chretien was among notable Liberals at this rally this was his first time campaigning for anyone since retirement After their election defeat Martin chose not to take on the office of Leader of the Opposition He stepped down as parliamentary leader of his party on February 1 and the Liberal caucus appointed Bill Graham MP for Toronto Centre and outgoing Defence Minister as his interim successor 64 Martin officially resigned as leader in March with Graham taking over on an interim basis The leadership election was set for December 2 2006 in Montreal however a number of prominent members such as John Manley Frank McKenna Brian Tobin and Allan Rock had already announced they would not enter the race to succeed Martin 65 Throughout the campaign 12 candidates came forward to lead the party but by the time of the leadership convention only eight people remained in the race Martha Hall Findlay Stephane Dion Michael Ignatieff Gerard Kennedy Bob Rae Scott Brison Ken Dryden Joe Volpe Throughout the campaign Ignatieff Rae Dion and Kennedy were considered to be the only candidates with enough support to be able to win the leadership with Ignatieff and Rae being considered the two front runners 66 67 However polling showed Ignatieff had little room to grow his support while Dion was the second and third choice among a plurality of delegates 68 At the leadership convention Ignatieff came out on top on the first ballot with 29 3 percent 69 With Kennedy s support Dion was able to leapfrog both Rae and Ignatieff on the third ballot eliminating Rae On the fourth and final ballot Dion defeated Ignatieff to become leader of the Liberal Party 70 Following the leadership race the Liberal Party saw a bounce in support and surpassed the Conservative Party as the most popular party in Canada 71 However in the months and years to come the party s support gradually fell 72 Dion s own popularity lagged considerably behind that of Prime Minister Harper s and he often trailed NDP leader Jack Layton in opinion polls when Canadians were asked who would make the best Prime Minister 72 73 Dion campaigned on environmental sustainability during the leadership race and created the Green Shift plan following his election as leader The Green Shift proposed creating a carbon tax that would be coupled with reductions to income tax rates The proposal was to tax greenhouse gas emissions starting at 10 per tonne of CO2 and reaching 40 per tonne within four years 74 The plan was a key policy for the party in the 2008 federal election but it was not well received and was continuously attacked by both the Conservatives and NDP 75 76 77 78 On election night the Liberal Party won 26 26 percent of the popular vote and 77 of the 308 seats in the House of Commons At that time their popular support was the lowest in the party s history and weeks later Dion announced he would step down as Liberal leader once his successor was chosen 79 Leadership campaign and coalition attempt Edit See also 2009 Liberal Party of Canada leadership election and 2008 2009 Canadian parliamentary dispute New Brunswick Member of Parliament Dominic LeBlanc was the first candidate to announce he would seek the leadership of the Liberal Party on October 27 2008 Days later Bob Rae who had finished third in 2006 announced he would also be a candidate for the leadership The party executive met in early November and chose May 2 2009 as the date to elect the next leader 80 On November 13 Michael Ignatieff who finished second in 2006 announced he would also be a candidate Michael Ignatieff speaks during a news conference in Toronto On November 27 2008 Minister of Finance Jim Flaherty provided the House of Commons with a fiscal update within which were plans to cut government spending suspend the ability of civil servants to strike until 2011 sell off some Crown assets to raise capital and eliminate the existing 1 95 per vote subsidy parties garner in an election 81 82 The opposition parties criticized the fiscal update and announced they would not support it because it contained no stimulus money to spur Canada s economy and protect workers during the economic crisis 83 With the Conservative Party only holding a minority of the seats in the House of Commons the government would be defeated if the opposition parties voted against the fiscal update 83 With the Conservatives unwilling to budge on the proposals outlined in the fiscal update the Liberals and NDP signed an agreement to form a coalition government with a written pledge of support from the Bloc Quebecois 84 Under the terms of the agreement Dion would be sworn in as Prime Minister however he would only serve in the position until the next Liberal leader was chosen Dion contacted Governor General Michaelle Jean and advised her that he had the confidence of the House of Commons if Prime Minister Harper s government was to fall 84 However before the fiscal update could be voted on in the House of Commons Prime Minister Harper requested the Governor General to prorogue parliament until January 26 2009 which she accepted 85 While polls showed Canadians were split on the idea of having either a coalition government or having the Conservatives continue to govern it was clear that because of Dion s personal popularity they were not comfortable with him becoming Prime Minister 86 Members of the Liberal Party therefore called on Dion to resign as leader immediately and for an interim leader to be chosen this person would become the Prime Minister in case the Conservatives were defeated when parliament resumed in January 87 With an estimated 70 percent of the Liberal caucus wanting Ignatieff to be named interim leader Dion resigned the post on December 8 2008 effective December 10 upon Ignatieff s becoming interim leader 87 88 LeBlanc announced on the same day that he was abandoning the Liberal leadership race and endorsing Ignatieff as the next leader 89 The following day Rae announced he was also dropping out of the race and was placing his full and unqualified support to Ignatieff 90 Michael Ignatieff Edit With Ignatieff named interim leader of the party on December 10 the Liberal s poll numbers saw significant gains after they plummeted with the signing of the coalition agreement 91 92 When parliament resumed on January 28 2009 the Ignatieff Liberals agreed to support the budget as long as it included regular accountability reports which the Conservatives accepted This ended the possibility of the coalition government with the New Democrats 93 Graph of opinion polls conducted between the 2008 and 2011 elections Throughout the Winter of 2008 09 opinion polls showed that while the Ignatieff led Liberals still trailed the Conservatives their support had stabilized in the low 30 percent range However by the time Ignatieff was confirmed as party leader on May 2 2009 the Liberal Party had a comfortable lead over the governing Conservatives 94 95 96 After a summer where he was accused of being missing in action Ignatieff announced on August 31 2009 that the Liberals would not support the minority Conservative government 97 98 99 After this announcement the Liberal Party s poll numbers which had already declined over the summer started to fall further behind the Conservatives 100 On October 1 2009 the Liberals put forth a non confidence motion with the hope of defeating the government However the NDP abstained from voting and the Conservatives survived the confidence motion 101 The Liberal Party logo used from 2010 to 2014 In this and the subsequent logo the stem of the maple leaf forms an acute accent used in the word Liberal in French The Liberal Party s attempt to force an election just a year after the previous one was reported as a miscalculation as polls showed that most Canadians did not want another election 102 Even after the government survived the confidence motion popularity for Ignatieff and his party continued to fall 103 Over the next year and a half with the exception of a brief period in early 2010 support for the Liberals remained below 30 percent and behind the Conservatives 104 While his predecessor Dion was criticized by the Conservatives as a weak leader Ignatieff was attacked as a political opportunist 60 On March 25 2011 Ignatieff introduced a motion of non confidence against the Harper government to attempt to force a federal election after the government was found to be in Contempt of Parliament the first such occurrence in Commonwealth history The House of Commons passed the motion by 156 145 105 The Liberals had considerable momentum when the writ was dropped and Ignatieff successfully squeezed NDP leader Jack Layton out of media attention by issuing challenges to Harper for one on one debates 106 107 108 In the first couple weeks of the campaign Ignatieff kept his party in second place in the polls and his personal ratings exceeded that of Layton for the first time 109 However opponents frequently criticized Ignatieff s perceived political opportunism particularly during the leaders debates when Layton criticized Ignatieff for having a poor attendance record for Commons votes saying You know most Canadians if they don t show up for work they don t get a promotion Ignatieff failed to defend himself against these charges and the debates were said to be a turning point for his party s campaign 110 Near the end of the campaign a late surge in support for Layton and the NDP relegated Ignatieff and the Liberals to third in opinion polls 111 112 113 The Liberals took their biggest loss ever on the May 2 2011 federal election The result was a third place finish with only 19 percent of the vote and returning 34 seats in the House of Commons Notably their support in Toronto and Montreal their power bases for the last two decades all but vanished All told the Liberals won only 11 seats in Ontario seven of which were in Toronto and seven in Quebec all in Montreal their fewest totals in either province Newfoundland and Labrador was the only province with majority Liberal seats at 4 out of 7 They also won only four seats west of Ontario The Conservatives won 40 percent of the vote and formed a majority government while the NDP formed the Official Opposition winning 31 percent of the vote 114 This election marked the first time the Liberals were unable to form either government or the official opposition Ignatieff was defeated in his own riding and announced his resignation as Liberal leader shortly after Bob Rae was chosen as the interim leader on May 25 2011 115 Justin Trudeau Edit Justin Trudeau Prime Minister of Canada 2015 present On April 14 2013 Justin Trudeau son of former Prime Minister Pierre Trudeau was elected leader of the Liberal Party on the first ballot winning 80 of the vote 116 Following his win support for the Liberal Party increased considerably and the party moved into first place in public opinion polls 117 118 An initial surge in support in the polls following Trudeau s election wore off in the following year in the face of Conservative ad campaign after Trudeau s win attempting to paint him as a silly dilettante unfit for public office 119 In 2014 Trudeau removed all Liberal senators from the Liberal Party caucus In announcing this Trudeau said the purpose of the unelected upper chamber is to act as a check on the power of the prime minister but the party structure interferes with that purpose 12 Following this move Liberal senators chose to keep the designation Liberal and sit together as a caucus albeit not one supported by the Liberal Party of Canada This independent group continued to refer to itself in publications as the Senate Liberal Caucus until 2019 120 By the time the 2015 federal election was called the Liberals had been knocked back into third place Trudeau and his advisors planned to mount a campaign based on economic stimulus in the hopes of regaining the mantle of being the party that best represented change from the New Democrats 121 Results of the 2015 Canadian federal election showing support for Liberal candidates by riding Justin Trudeau s Liberals would win the 2015 election with 39 5 percent of the popular vote and 184 seats in dramatic fashion becoming the first party to win a parliamentary majority after being reduced to third party status in a previous general election besting Brian Mulroney s record for the largest seat increase by a party in a single election 111 in 1984 and winning the most seats in Quebec for the first time since 1980 122 123 124 Chantal Hebert deemed the result a Liberal comeback that is headed straight for the history books 125 while Bloomberg s Josh Wingrove and Theophilos Argitis similarly described it as capping the biggest political comeback in the country s history 126 At the 2019 federal election Trudeau s Liberal Party lost 20 seats in the House of Commons lowering its total from 177 to 157 from the time of dissolution they still won the most seats of any party enough seats to allow Trudeau to form a minority government 127 128 For the first time since 1979 the party that garnered the largest share of the national popular vote did not win the most seats the Liberals under Trudeau had 33 1 per cent of the popular vote while the Conservatives under Andrew Scheer had 34 4 per cent 129 130 It was also the first time a government took power with less than 35 per cent of the national popular vote since the Conservatives of John A Macdonald in 1867 who had 34 8 per cent of the votes 131 In the 2021 federal election Trudeau and the Liberals secured a third mandate and his second minority government after winning 160 seats However the Liberals again came in second in the national popular vote behind the Conservatives 132 They received 32 6 percent of the popular vote the lowest percentage of the national popular vote for a governing party in Canadian history 133 In March 2022 Trudeau s Liberal Party agreed to a confidence and supply deal with the New Democratic Party 134 Systems and realignment model Edit Scholars and political experts have recently used a political realignment model to explain what was considered a collapse of a dominant party and put its condition in long term perspective According to recent scholarship there have been four party systems in Canada at the federal level since Confederation each with its own distinctive pattern of social support patronage relationships leadership styles and electoral strategies Steve Patten identifies four party systems in Canada s political history 135 The first party system emerged from pre Confederation colonial politics had its heyday from 1896 to 1911 and lasted until the Conscription Crisis of 1917 and was characterized by local patronage administered by the two largest parties the Liberals and the Conservatives The second system emerged following the First World War and had its heyday from 1935 and 1957 was characterized by regionalism and saw the emergence of several protest parties such as the Progressives the Social Credit Party and the Co operative Commonwealth Federation The third system emerged in 1963 and had its heyday from 1968 to 1983 and began to unravel thereafter The two largest parties were challenged by a strong third party the New Democratic Party successor to the CCF Campaigns during this era became more national in scope because of electronic media and involved a greater focus on leadership The dominant policy of the era was Keynesian economics The fourth party system has involved the rise of the Reform Party the Bloc Quebecois and the merger of the Canadian Alliance with the Progressive Conservatives Most parties moved to one member one vote leadership contests and campaign finance laws were reformed in 2004 The fourth party system has been characterized by market oriented policies that generally abandoned Keynesian policies but maintained the welfare state Stephen Clarkson 2005 shows how the Liberal Party has dominated all the party systems using different approaches It began with a clientelistic approach under Laurier which evolved into a brokerage system of the 1920s 1930s and 1940s under Mackenzie King The 1950s saw the emergence of a pan Canadian system which lasted until the 1990s The 1993 election categorized by Clarkson as an electoral earthquake which fragmented the party system saw the emergence of regional politics within a four party system whereby various groups championed regional issues and concerns Clarkson concludes that the inherent bias built into the first past the post system has chiefly benefited the Liberals 136 Principles and policies EditThe principles of the party are based on liberalism as defined by various liberal theorists and include individual freedom for present and future generations responsibility human dignity a just society political freedom religious freedom national unity equality of opportunity cultural diversity bilingualism and multilateralism 137 138 From the early twentieth century the Liberal party has favoured a variety of big tent policies from both right and left of the political spectrum 17 When it formed the government from 1993 to 2006 it championed balanced budgets and eliminated the budget deficit completely from the federal budget in 1995 by reducing spending on social programs or delegating them to the provinces and promised to replace the Goods and Services Tax in the party s famous Red Book 139 It also legalized same sex marriage 2021 party platform Edit During the 2021 federal election the Liberal Party of Canada introduced their platform which included a Gender and Diversity Impact Summary for each chapter 140 as well as six key categories These included the pandemic housing health care the economy climate change and reconciliation 141 142 Key Liberal policies of the 2021 platform included Requiring travellers on interprovincial trains commercial flights cruise ships and other federally regulated vessels be vaccinated against COVID 19 140 Making an investment of 6 billion on top of 4 billion already committed to support the elimination of health system waitlists 140 Providing various investments in order to build preserve or revitalize 1 4 million new homes by 2025 26 140 Allocating funds to spend 2 billion over the next five years on measures to address the legacy of residential schools with truth justice and healing initiatives 141 Re introducing legislation within the first 100 days in office to eliminate the practice of gay conversion therapy for everyone 140 Achieving net zero emissions by 2050 140 Presenting a National Action Plan on Combating Hate by 2022 as part of a renewed Anti Racism Strategy including the Black Canadians Justice Strategy 140 Updating the committed number to receive 40 000 Afghan refugees 140 Creating a minimum tax rule so that everyone who earns enough to qualify for the top bracket pays at least 15 each year the tax rate paid by people earning less than 49 000 removing their ability to artificially pay no tax through excessive use of deductions and credits 140 Establishing a permanent Council of Economic Advisors to provide independent advice to government on long term growth The council will be gender balanced and reflect Canada s diversity 140 Reform economic immigration programs to expand pathways to permanent residence for temporary foreign workers and former international students through the Express Entry points system 140 Setting aside a minimum of 1 billion to support provinces or territories who implement a ban on handguns across their jurisdiction 140 Provincial parties EditEach province and one territory in Canada has its own Liberal Party however only those in New Brunswick Newfoundland and Labrador Nova Scotia and Prince Edward Island are politically and organizationally affiliated with the federal Liberal Party While other provincial Liberal parties may align ideologically with the federal party they operate as completely separate entities Those provincial parties have separate policies finances memberships constituency associations executives conventions and offices 14 Electoral performance EditElection Leader Votes Seats Position Government1867 George Brown 60 818 22 70 62 180 62 2nd Official Opposition1872 Edward Blake 110 556 34 70 95 200 33 2nd Official Opposition1874 Alexander Mackenzie 128 455 39 50 129 206 34 1st Majority1878 180 074 33 10 63 206 66 2nd Official Opposition1882 Edward Blake 160 547 31 10 73 211 10 2nd Official Opposition1887 312 736 43 10 80 215 7 2nd Official Opposition1891 Wilfrid Laurier 350 512 45 20 90 215 10 2nd Official Opposition1896 401 425 41 40 117 213 27 1st Majority1900 477 758 50 30 128 213 11 1st Majority1904 521 041 50 90 137 214 9 1st Majority1908 570 311 48 90 133 221 4 1st Majority1911 596 871 45 82 85 221 48 2nd Official Opposition1917 729 756 38 80 82 235 3 2nd Official Opposition1921 Mackenzie King 1 285 998 41 15 118 235 36 1st Majority1925 1 252 684 39 74 100 245 18 2nd MinorityOfficial Opposition1926 1 397 031 42 90 116 245 16 1st Minority1930 1 716 798 45 50 89 245 27 2nd Official Opposition1935 1 967 839 44 68 173 245 84 1st Majority1940 2 365 979 51 32 179 245 6 1st Majority1945 2 086 545 39 78 118 245 61 1st Minority1949 Louis St Laurent 2 874 813 49 15 191 262 73 1st Majority1953 2 731 633 48 43 169 265 22 1st Majority1957 2 702 573 40 50 105 265 64 2nd Official Opposition1958 Lester Pearson 2 432 953 33 40 48 265 67 2nd Official Opposition1962 2 846 589 36 97 99 265 51 2nd Official Opposition1963 3 276 996 41 48 128 265 29 1st Minority1965 3 099 521 40 18 131 265 3 1st Minority1968 Pierre Trudeau 3 686 801 45 37 154 264 23 1st Majority1972 3 717 804 38 42 109 264 46 1st Minority1974 4 102 853 43 15 141 264 32 1st Majority1979 4 595 319 40 11 114 282 27 2nd Official Opposition1980 4 855 425 44 34 147 282 33 1st Majority1984 John Turner 3 516 486 28 02 40 282 107 2nd Official Opposition1988 4 205 072 31 92 83 295 43 2nd Official Opposition1993 Jean Chretien 5 647 952 41 24 177 295 94 1st Majority1997 4 994 277 38 46 155 301 22 1st Majority2000 5 252 031 40 85 172 301 17 1st Majority2004 Paul Martin 4 982 220 36 73 135 308 37 1st Minority2006 4 479 415 30 23 103 308 32 2nd Official Opposition2008 Stephane Dion 3 633 185 26 26 77 308 26 2nd Official Opposition2011 Michael Ignatieff 2 783 175 18 91 34 308 43 3rd Third party2015 Justin Trudeau 6 928 055 39 47 184 338 150 1st Majority2019 6 018 728 33 12 157 338 27 1st Minority2021 5 556 629 32 62 160 338 3 1st MinorityParty leadership EditTo date only seven Liberal leaders never served as Prime Minister three of whom were interim leaders Leaders Edit Portrait Name Term start Term end Date of birth Date of death Notes George Brown 1867 1867 November 29 1818 May 9 1880 Unofficial The leader of the Clear Grits a forerunner of the federal Liberal Party Edward Blake 1869 1870 October 13 1833 March 1 1912 Unofficial Alexander Mackenzie March 6 1873 April 27 1880 January 28 1822 April 17 1892 2nd Prime Minister 1st Liberal Prime Minister Edward Blake May 4 1880 June 2 1887 October 13 1833 March 1 1912 Wilfrid Laurier June 23 1887 February 17 1919 November 20 1841 February 17 1919 7th Prime Minister Daniel Duncan McKenzie February 17 1919 August 7 1919 January 8 1859 June 8 1927 Interim leader William LyonMackenzie King August 7 1919 August 7 1948 December 17 1874 July 22 1950 10th Prime Minister Louis St Laurent August 7 1948 January 16 1958 February 1 1882 July 25 1973 12th Prime Minister Lester B Pearson January 16 1958 April 6 1968 April 23 1897 December 27 1972 14th Prime Minister Pierre Trudeau April 6 1968 June 16 1984 October 18 1919 September 28 2000 15th Prime Minister John Turner June 16 1984 June 23 1990 June 7 1929 September 18 2020 17th Prime Minister Jean Chretien June 23 1990 November 14 2003 January 11 1934 living 20th Prime Minister Paul Martin November 14 2003 March 19 2006 August 28 1938 living 21st Prime Minister Bill Graham March 19 2006 December 2 2006 March 17 1939 August 7 2022 Interim leader Stephane Dion December 2 2006 December 10 2008 September 28 1955 living Michael Ignatieff December 10 2008 May 25 2011 May 12 1947 living Interim leader until May 2 2009 when ratified as permanent leader Bob Rae May 25 2011 April 14 2013 August 2 1948 living Interim leader Justin Trudeau April 14 2013 Incumbent December 25 1971 living 23rd Prime MinisterPresidents Edit Vincent Massey 1932 1935 Norman Platt Lambert 1936 1941 vacant 1941 1943 Norman Alexander McLarty 1943 acting Wishart McLea Robertson 1943 1945 James Gordon Fogo 1946 1952 Duncan Kenneth MacTavish 1952 1958 Bruce Matthews 1958 1961 John Joseph Connolly 1961 1964 John Lang Nichol 1964 1968 Richard Stanbury 1968 1973 Gildas Molgat 1973 1976 Alasdair Graham 1976 1980 Norman MacLeod 1980 1982 Iona Campagnolo 1982 1986 J J Michel Robert 1986 1990 Don Johnston 1990 1994 Dan Hays 1994 1998 Stephen LeDrew 1998 2003 Michael Eizenga 2003 2006 Marie Poulin 2006 2008 Doug Ferguson 2008 2009 Alfred Apps 2009 2012 Mike Crawley 2012 2014 Anna Gainey 2014 2018 Suzanne Cowan 2018 presentSee also Edit Canada portal Politics portal Liberalism portalLiberal Party of Canada leadership elections Liberalism in Canada List of political parties in Canada Senate Liberal Caucus TrudeauismNotes Edit The Liberal Party first appeared on the ballot as a unified party in the 1861 Province of Canada election six years prior to Canadian Confederation All Liberal senators were expelled from the party s parliamentary caucus in 2014 Those senators who had been appointed by Liberal prime ministers up to and including Paul Martin sat from 2014 to 2019 as the Senate Liberal Caucus which was not affiliated to or recognized by the Liberal Party The Senate Liberal Caucus was dissolved in 2019 and replaced by the Progressive Senate Group 11 Senators appointed since 2015 by Justin Trudeau have affiliated with an independent parliamentary group or sat as non affiliated members 12 Brokerage politics is a Canadian term for successful big tent parties that embody a pluralistic catch all approach to appeal to the median Canadian voter adopting centrist policies and electoral coalitions to satisfy the short term preferences of a majority of electors who are not located on the ideological fringe 18 19 20 21 22 Party was briefly out of power from 1930 to 1935 References Edit a b c d e f g h i Liberal Party of Canada History PDF Newmarket Aurora Federal Liberal Association Archived from the original PDF on April 26 2012 Retrieved April 26 2012 The party became infused with social liberalism in the 1940s and 1950s Law Commission of Canada 2011 Law and Citizenship UBC Press p 6 ISBN 9780774840798 Susan Prentice Manitoba s childcare regime Social liberalism in flux Canadian Journal of Sociology 29 2 2004 193 207 Michael J Prince Canadian disability activism and political ideas In and between neo liberalism and social liberalism Canadian Journal of Disability Studies 1 1 2012 1 34 Smith Miriam 2005 Social Movements and Judicial Empowerment Courts Public Policy and Lesbian and Gay Organizing in Canada Politics amp Society 33 2 327 353 doi 10 1177 0032329205275193 S2CID 154613468 a b c Amanda Bittner Royce Koop March 1 2013 Parties Elections and the Future of Canadian Politics UBC Press pp 300 ISBN 978 0 7748 2411 8 Andrea Olive 2015 The Canadian Environment in Political Context University of Toronto Press p 55 ISBN 978 1 4426 0871 9 a b David Rayside 2011 Faith Politics and Sexual Diversity in Canada and the United States UBC Press p 22 ISBN 978 0 7748 2011 0 Richard Collin Pamela L Martin 2012 An Introduction to World Politics Conflict and Consensus on a Small Planet Rowman amp Littlefield p 138 ISBN 978 1 4422 1803 1 Liberal Party of Canada Welcomes Liberal International to 2009 Convention Liberal Party of Canada March 6 2009 Archived from the original on August 5 2012 Retrieved August 28 2012 One time Liberal senators rename themselves as Progressive Senate Group CTV News The Canadian Press November 14 2019 Retrieved November 25 2020 a b Spencer Christina January 29 2014 Justin Trudeau kicks all 32 Liberal senators out of caucus in bid for reform National Post Retrieved October 18 2015 a b McCall Christina Stephen Clarkson Liberal Party Archived October 5 2013 at the Wayback Machine The Canadian Encyclopedia a b Dyck Rand 2012 Canadian Politics Concise Fifth Edition Nelson Education pp 217 229 ISBN 978 0176503437 a b Donald C Baumer Howard J Gold 2015 Parties Polarization and Democracy in the United States Taylor amp Francis pp 152 ISBN 978 1 317 25478 2 Liberal Party The Canadian Encyclopedia 2015 a b c R Kenneth Carty 2015 Big Tent Politics The Liberal Party s Long Mastery of Canada s Public Life UBC Press pp 16 17 ISBN 978 0 7748 3002 7 PDF copy at UBC Press Alex Marland Thierry Giasson Jennifer Lees Marshment 2012 Political Marketing in Canada UBC Press p 257 ISBN 978 0 7748 2231 2 John Courtney David Smith 2010 The Oxford Handbook of Canadian Politics OUP USA p 195 ISBN 978 0 19 533535 4 Stephen Brooks 2004 Canadian Democracy An Introduction Oxford University Press p 265 ISBN 978 0 19 541806 4 Two historically dominant political parties have avoided ideological appeals in favour of a flexible centrist style of politics that is often labelled brokerage politics David Johnson 2016 Thinking Government Public Administration and Politics in Canada Fourth Edition University of Toronto Press pp 13 23 ISBN 978 1 4426 3521 0 most Canadian governments especially at the federal level have taken a moderate centrist approach to decision making seeking to balance growth stability and governmental efficiency and economy Miriam Smith 2014 Group Politics and Social Movements in Canada Second Edition University of Toronto Press p 17 ISBN 978 1 4426 0695 1 Canada s party system has long been described as a brokerage system in which the leading parties Liberal and Conservative follow strategies that appeal across major social cleavages in an effort to defuse potential tensions Andrea Olive 2015 The Canadian Environment in Political Context University of Toronto Press p 55 ISBN 978 1 4426 0871 9 Rodney P Carlisle 2005 Encyclopedia of Politics The Left and the Right SAGE Publications p 274 ISBN 978 1 4522 6531 5 Patrick James Mark J Kasoff 2007 Canadian Studies in the New Millennium University of Toronto Press p 70 ISBN 978 1 4426 9211 4 Liberal Party of Canada Encyclopaedia Britannica Retrieved April 19 2013 Levesque Catherine September 13 2019 Justin Trudeau revient sur l avortement a Montreal La Presse in French Gun Control Our Platform 2 liberal ca Retrieved August 3 2020 Duffy John 2002 Fights of our Lives Elections Leadership and the Making of Canada HarperCollins p 41 ISBN 9780002000895 a b Sir Wilfrid Laurier Biography Library and Archives Canada Retrieved November 24 2011 Beauharnois Scandal Archived May 14 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time low share of popular vote is enough for Liberals to win power National Post National Post Federal election latest updates CBC September 20 2021 Hopper Tristan September 22 2021 First Reading The Least Popular Canadian Government Ever Elected National Post Liberals NDP agree to confidence deal seeing Trudeau government maintain power until 2025 CTV News March 22 2022 Steve Patten The Evolution of the Canadian Party System in Gagnon and Tanguay eds Canadian Parties in Transition pp 57 58 Stephen Clarkson The Big Red Machine How the Liberal Party Dominates Canadian Politics Archived January 3 2016 at the Wayback Machine 2005 Apps Alfred Building a Modern Liberal Party PDF Liberal Party of Canada pp 5 9 Archived from the original PDF on July 17 2016 Retrieved November 24 2011 2009 Constitution PDF Liberal Party of Canada Archived from the original PDF on November 5 2015 Retrieved November 24 2011 Egan Louise Palmer Randall November 21 2011 The lesson from Canada on cutting deficits The Globe and Mail Archived from the original on November 26 2011 Retrieved November 24 2011 a b c d e f g h i j k l Forward For Everyone PDF Liberal Party of Canada Retrieved May 12 2022 a b Aiello Rachel September 1 2021 Liberals unveil 2021 election platform promising total of 78 billion for post pandemic rebuild CTV News Retrieved May 12 2022 Liberals unveil 2021 election platform Al Jazeera September 1 2021 Further reading EditBickerton James and Alain G Gagnon Canadian Politics 5th ed 2009 415pp university textbook Bliss Michael Right Honourable Men The Descent of Canadian Politics from Macdonald to Mulroney 1994 essays on Prime Ministers Carty R Kenneth Big Tent Politics The Liberal Party s Long Mastery of Canada s Public Life 2015 Clarkson Stephen The Big Red Machine How the Liberal Party Dominates Canadian Politics 2005 Cohen Andrew and J L Granatstein eds Trudeau s Shadow the life and legacy of Pierre Elliott Trudeau 1999 Gagnon Alain G and Brian Tanguay Canadian Parties in Transition 3rd ed 2007 574pp university textbook Granatstein J L Mackenzie King His Life and World 1977 Hillmer Norman and Steven Azzi Canada s Best Prime Ministers Maclean s June 20 2011 online Jeffrey Brooke Divided Loyalties The Liberal Party of Canada 1984 2008 2010 excerpt and text search Jeffrey Brooke Road to Redemption The Liberal Party of Canada 2006 2019 2020 Koop Royce Professionalism Sociability and the Liberal Party in the Constituencies Canadian Journal of Political Science 2010 43 04 pp 893 913 McCall Christina Stephen Clarkson Liberal Party The Canadian Encyclopedia McCall Christina Grits an intimate portrait of the Liberal Party Macmillan of Canada 1982 Neatby H Blair Laurier and a Liberal Quebec A Study in Political Management 1973 Whitaker Reginald The Government Party Organizing and Financing the Liberal Party of Canada 1930 1958 1977 Wallace W S 1948 History of the Liberal Party of Canada The Encyclopedia of Canada Vol IV Toronto University Associates of Canada pp 75 76 Wearing Joseph The L Shaped Party The Liberal Party of Canada 1958 1980 McGraw Hill Ryerson 1981 External links EditOfficial website Liberal Party of Canada Canadian Political Parties and Political Interest Groups Web Archive created by the University of Toronto Libraries The Liberal Party of Canada Constitution Archived June 19 2019 at the Wayback Machine Canadian Encyclopedia entry on the Liberal Party Archived October 25 2015 at the Wayback Machine Liberal Party of Canada fonds at Library and Archives Canada Media related to Liberal Party of Canada at Wikimedia Commons Liberal Party of Canada at Wikinews Works related to Liberal Party of Canada at Wikisource Liberal Party of Canada on Twitter Retrieved from https en wikipedia org w index php title Liberal Party of Canada amp oldid 1130203890, wikipedia, wiki, book, books, library,

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